Free Lecture — From Air and Space to the Railroad and Beyond: An Evening With Brig. Gen. James A. McDivittAudience: All Educators and 9-Higher Education Students
Event Date: June 26, 2014, at 8 p.m. EDT

Call for Abstracts: 30th American Society for Gravitational and Space Research ConferenceAudience: Full-time Graduate Students
Submission Deadline EXTENDED to June 27, 2014

NASA and Center for the Advancement of Science in Space invite students and educators to chat with Mike Yagley, director of Research and Testing at Cobra Puma Golf, for an inside look at how space station research will help engineer a better golf club. From problem solving, designing, understanding materials, analyzing constructions and studying aerodynamics, a solid background in science, technology, engineering and mathematics is required to create golf products.

During the chat, ask your question by sending it via email to dlinfochannel@gmail.com or tweet the question with #askDLN.

The event will be webcast on the NASA DLiNfo Channel on Friday, June 20, 2014, at 2 p.m. EDT.

White House Office of Science and Technology Policy’s Fall 2014 Policy Internship Program

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, or OSTP, is seeking students for fall 2014 internships. The OSTP advises the President on the effects of science and technology on domestic and international affairs. The office serves as a source of scientific and technological analyses and judgment for the president with respect to major policies, plans and programs of the federal government

Policy internships are open to interested students from all majors and programs, including law school programs. Law students (and any other students) who are interested in policy may apply. Applicants must be U.S. citizens who are enrolled, at least half-time, in an accredited college or university during the period of volunteer service. Students in undergraduate, graduate and professional programs in all fields are encouraged to apply.

While these positions are without compensation, the assignments provide educational enrichment, practical work experience and networking opportunities with other individuals in the science and technology policy arena.

Want to See What Marshall Space Flight Center is Doing?
Go to ‘NASA on the Square’ June 21, 2014, in Huntsville.

NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center is having an “open house” on the streets of downtown Huntsville, Alabama, on Saturday, June 21, 2014, complete with rockets, satellites, science, engineering, music, food and fun. Visitors can talk with former astronauts, kids can make their own rockets while learning about space, and Marshall engineers and scientists will explain their missions to help study Earth, the sun and other worlds.

“NASA on the Square” will launch at 11 a.m. and fill the streets and sidewalks around the Madison County Courthouse until 4 p.m.

Exhibits and activities for all ages will showcase everything from the center’s work with the Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft — the most powerful rocket ever built and the vehicle that will take astronauts on deep-space missions to asteroids and Mars — to 3-D printing and other advanced technologies that are revolutionizing space exploration and discovery.

NASA Marshall is partnering with Downtown Huntsville, Inc., for the free event. Visitors will find demonstrations, displays and activities reflecting the work of Marshall and NASA grouped into three broad categories around the Square and adjacent areas:

— “Traveling To and Through Space” will feature an actual RS-25 rocket engine like those that will launch the Space Launch System; a display of a rocket propellant tank made of light-but-strong composite materials instead of much-heavier metals, that keeps gases so cold they become liquids; and the “Mighty Eagle” robotic prototype lander, which is testing technology to allow spacecraft to autonomously land and explore moons and other worlds; and much more.

— “Living and Working in Space” allows visitors a glimpse into the Marshall-developed Environmental Control and Life Support System that provides astronauts aboard the International Space Station with water and oxygen and controls their environment. Displays will explain the work of people at the Payload Operations and Integration Center at Marshall, who manage the increasing number of science activities aboard the space station. You’ll get the facts about the racks and sealed Microgravity Science Glovebox that allows station astronauts to safely handle materials for experiments. And you’ll learn about work to design Deep Space Habitats for long-term missions.

— “Understanding Our World and Beyond” will showcase Marshall’s role in the orbiting Chandra X-ray Observatory, the world’s most powerful X-ray telescope; the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, a robotic mission that set out to map the moon’s surface and, after a year of exploration, was extended with a unique set of science objectives; the ISERV Earth observation camera system aboard the space station; solar science experiments and many other programs. There will even be a “Sunspotter” special telescope for viewing the sun.

Throughout the day, Marshall researchers, scientists and other team members will present short talks about their work. Bands featuring Marshall Center musicians will perform; the Marshall Exchange shop will have science-related kids’ games for sale, as well as caps, T-shirts, tote bags, space shuttle mission coins and other NASA-logo merchandise; and visitors can have their pictures taken in a spacesuit. There will be many educational activities for children, including being tethered to a simulated spacecraft to learn how astronauts make repairs or launch satellites during spacewalks, and “Peeps in Space,” which uses marshmallow treats and a vacuum jar to show why astronauts need special spacesuits.

“Huntsville has been home to the Marshall Space Flight Center for more than 50 years,” said Marshall Center Director Patrick Scheuermann. “From America’s first satellite, to the moon landings, the shuttle program and the International Space Station, we’ve made history, together. NASA on the Square is a celebration of that history, and a great opportunity for your family to come and meet our family and see where we are going next.”

NASA partners, including ATK, Boeing, Jacobs and Teledyne Brown will also have exhibits on the Square. Goodwyn, Mills & Cawood is providing the stage and sound system. Aerojet Rocketdyne is sponsoring the musical entertainment. Other participants include the University of Alabama in Huntsville, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, U.S. Space & Rocket Center and the Huntsville-Madison County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

NASA is looking for the next generation of scientists, engineers and innovators. To jump-start the future of potential explorers, Women@NASA has created a mentoring project that offers a one-of-a-kind experience for middle school students. Participants will get to explore the possibilities of a career in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The project will feature one-on-one mentoring from NASA employees. Participants will complete online lessons with their mentors while virtually connected through Skype or Google Chat.

Applicants must be U.S. citizens in grades 5-8 or home-school equivalent. The mentoring project will take place over a five-week period during the summer.

NASA’s Center for Astronomy Education, or CAE, announces a series of educator workshops for astronomy and space science educators.

These workshops provide participants with experiences needed to create effective and productive active-learning classroom environments. Workshop leaders model best practices in implementing many different classroom-tested instructional strategies. But more importantly, workshop participants will gain first-hand experience implementing these proven strategies. During many microteaching events, you will have the opportunity to role-play the parts of student and instructor. You will assess and critique each other’s implementation in real time as part of a supportive learning community. You will have the opportunity to use unfamiliar teaching techniques in collaboration with mentors before using them with your students. CAE is funded through NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Exoplanet Exploration Program.

June 23-27, 2014 — College Park, MarylandNew Faculty Workshop for Physics and Astronomy

August or September, 2014 — South CarolinaCAE Tier I Teaching Excellence Workshop for Current and Future Astronomy and Space Science Instructors

Free Education Webinar Series From NASA Educator Professional Development

NASA Educator Professional Development is presenting a series of free webinars open to all educators. Join NASA education specialists to learn about activities, lesson plans, educator guides and resources to bring NASA into your classroom.

Robotics Part 1: Live Chat with Engineer Paulo Younse
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 6-8Event Date: June 24, 2014, at 4 p.m. EDT
Learn about this exciting three-part robotics series focusing on increasing your knowledge of robotics in the classroom.

Understand Our Sun Inside and Out
Audience: Pre-service Educators of Grades 8-12 and In-service Educators of Grades K-12Event Date: June 24, 2014, at 7 p.m. EDT
Learn about the structure of the sun and chart sunspot activity.

Robotics Part 2: An Introduction
Audience: Pre-service Educators of Grades 6-8 and Informal EducatorsEvent Date: June 25, 2014, at 3 p.m. EDT
In this hourlong webinar, explore what robots are, how they are part of our everyday lives and how they are used by NASA.

Robotics Part 3: Engineering Design — Classroom Application
Audience: Pre-service Home School Educators of Grades 6-8 and In-service Educators of Grades K-12Event Date: June 26, 2014, at 2 p.m. EDT
In part three of the robotics series, participants will be introduced to activities that will discuss how engineers solve problems and be shown how to set up criteria and constraints in the classroom.

NASA is seeking proposals from universities to advance the agency’s plans for exploration to deep space and Mars. The Early Stage Innovations NASA Research Announcement calls for innovative space technology proposals that could benefit the space program, other government agencies and the greater aerospace community.

Aligned with NASA’s Space Technology Roadmaps and priorities identified by the National Research Council, NASA selected topic areas that lend themselves to pioneering approaches where U.S. universities can help solve tough space technology challenges.

“The sparks to fuel the fire of innovation that will develop the new space technologies of tomorrow reside within American universities,” said Michael Gazarik, NASA’s associate administrator for the Space Technology Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in the District of Columbia. “These investments benefit government space technology development and our future missions, while also boosting economic growth and competitiveness.”

NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, or STMD, expects to make approximately 12 awards this fall, with total award amounts of up to $500,000. Research and development efforts will take place over two to three years.

Only accredited U.S. universities may submit proposals under this solicitation. Notices of intent to submit proposals to the Early Stage Innovations Appendix of NASA’s Research Announcement, Space Technology Research, Development, Demonstration and Infusion 2014 (SpaceTech-REDDI-2014), are due June 24, 2014. The deadline for submitting final proposals is July 21, 2014. To view the announcement and information for submitting proposals, visit http://go.nasa.gov/1mRS9y8.

NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate is innovating, developing, testing and flying hardware for use in NASA’s future missions. Over the next 18 months, the directorate will make significant new investments to address several high-priority challenges for achieving safe and affordable deep space exploration.

The current topic areas support four of eight key STMD technology thrust areas: advanced life support and resource use, Mars entry descent and landing systems, space robotic systems, and lightweight space structures. Additionally, the technology topics solicited support the effort to send humans to Mars as well as outer planetary investment priorities.

Free Lecture — From Air and Space to the Railroad and Beyond: An Evening With Brig. Gen. James A. McDivitt

On June 26, 2014, former astronaut James A. McDivitt takes the podium to reflect on the various stages of his careers from the 1950s to the present. McDivitt was a pilot in the U.S. Air Force and logged over 5,000 flight hours before being selected as an astronaut in 1962. He flew a Gemini mission and commanded Apollo 9. Upon leaving NASA in 1972, McDivitt began another career in the energy, railroad and aerospace industries.

The lecture begins at 8 p.m. EDT at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, District of Columbia. The lecture will be webcast live.

Call for Abstracts: 30th American Society for Gravitational and Space Research Conference

A call for abstracts has been released for the 30th annual American Society for Gravitational and Space Research, or ASGSR, conference and the 28th Symposium on Gravity-Related Phenomena in Space Exploration. The meeting will take place Oct. 23-26, 2014, at The Westin Pasadena in California.

Abstracts must be submitted electronically no later than June 27, 2014, using the abstract submittal form and instructions posted on the ASGSR website. All submitted abstracts will be peer reviewed by the conference organizing committee.

All accepted abstracts from students will be presented as posters or orally in competitions. The student poster competition will be judged by society members, and monetary awards will be given during the banquet scheduled for Oct. 25, 2014. Student competition winners will be encouraged to submit an extended abstract or a communication article to the ASGSR journal “Gravitational and Space Research.” All students are expected to coordinate with their advisors when submitting an abstract for the conference.

Student travel assistance of up to $500 is available on a limited basis. Students requesting consideration for travel assistance should check the box on the abstract submittal form.

Time is running out to have your students’ names flown aboard Orion during its first flight! NASA’s Exploration Design Challenge, or EDC, invites students around the world to think and act like scientists to overcome one of the major hurdles of deep space long-duration exploration — the dangers associated with space radiation. Students taking part in the challenge will discover how to plan and design improved radiation shielding aboard the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, currently being developed by NASA, Lockheed Martin and other partners to carry astronauts to space, venturing farther than humans have ever gone. Through a series of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, engagement activities, students in grades K-12 will analyze different materials that simulate space radiation shielding and recommend materials that best block radiation and protect astronauts.

The names of all students participating in the NASA EDC will fly aboard the spacecraft as honorary virtual crew members for Orion’s first flight. The deadline to register students for the virtual crew is June 30, 2014.

To spur innovation in higher education aimed at helping more students access and complete a college degree or credential, the U.S. Department of Education recently announced the availability of $75 million in the ‘First in the World,’ or FITW, program. Grants from the program will fund the development and testing of innovative approaches and strategies at colleges and universities that improve college attainment and make higher education more affordable for students and families.

The FITW competition aims to increase postsecondary access, affordability and completion for underrepresented, underprepared or low-income students at institutions across the country. Colleges and universities are invited to submit proposals addressing key priorities around boosting enrollment and attainment for those students, or minimizing gaps between these students and their peers; improving transfer rates between community college and four-year institutions; increasing enrollment and completion rates among underrepresented, underprepared or low-income students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics programs; reducing time to completion; and increasing college affordability.

NASA’s Space Life and Physical Sciences Office and the International Space Station Program Office are seeking hypothesis-driven research concept papers that use the International Space Station as a microgravity platform in the space life and physical sciences disciplines.

Concept papers should describe ground-based research that can be enhanced by flying in a microgravity environment on the space station. Concept papers selected will have the opportunity to submit a full flight proposal based on the merit of the research presented. NASA anticipates selecting 10 submissions to receive monetary awards. Selected awardees will be invited to submit full proposals on their research, which may result in one flight opportunity for student researchers.

Graduate students and post-doctoral fellows from all categories of U.S. institutions who have never conducted or been involved in space research are eligible to submit papers. Student research and scientists from EPSCoR (Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research) jurisdiction institutions are specifically encouraged to participate.

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, mission is sponsoring a workshop for educators of students in grades 6-9. This workshop will focus on lunar science, exploration and how our understanding of the moon is evolving with the new data from current and recent lunar missions.

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has allowed scientists to measure the coldest known place in the solar system, map the surface of the moon in unprecedented detail and accuracy, find evidence of recent lunar geologic activity, characterize the radiation environment around the moon and its potential effects on future lunar explorers and much, much more!

Workshop participants will learn about these and other recent discoveries, reinforce their understanding of lunar science concepts, gain tools to help address common student misconceptions about the moon, interact with lunar scientists and engineers, work with LRO data and learn how to bring these data and information to their students using hands-on activities aligned with grades 6-9 National Science Education Standards and Benchmarks.

The workshop will take place July 14-18, 2014, at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Workshop participants will have the opportunity to tour the LRO Mission Operation Center and the Goddard spacecraft testing facilities.

Participants will receive a $200 stipend to help offset travel expenses.

Free Lecture — Exploring Pluto and Its Satellites at the Solar System’s Frontier

NASA’s New Horizons mission launched in 2006 and is approaching the Pluto system. It is the first mission to an outer planet since Voyager in 1989. On July 16, 2014, New Horizons team leader Alan Stern, Pluto scientist William McKinnon and science writer Dava Sobel will discuss the program’s goals for exploring the Pluto system next year and its place in the history of exploration.

The lecture begins at 8 p.m. EDT at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, District of Columbia.

U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools (ED-GRS) has introduced a new Postsecondary Sustainability Award for the 2014-2015 cycle. In addition to a total of five school and district nominees, each state may nominate one postsecondary institution for exemplary achievement in all three of the program’s Pillars: Reduced Environmental Impact and Costs, Improved Health and Wellness, and Effective Environmental and Sustainability Education. For this award, state selection committees are particularly encouraged to document how the nominees’ sustainability work has reduced college costs, increased completion rates, led to employment, and ensured robust civic skills among graduates; and to make an effort to consider diverse types of institutions. Interested colleges and universities should contact their state higher education authorities for information on how to apply in their states.

Like the PK-12 awards, this category is entirely voluntary. Hearing from interested colleges and universities may be helpful to state authorities considering 2014 – 2015 participation. State higher education authorities should contact U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools for more information. They can find updated criteria and other state implementation guidance on our website. All state authorities are encouraged to indicate their intent to nominate in 2015 by Aug. 1, 2014.

Competitions vary by state, but most states will be posting their applications in the fall with deadlines to submit to them in the winter. State authorities’ school, district and postsecondary nominations are due to the Department of Education by Feb. 1, 2015. Interested PK-12 schools and districts should continue to contact their state education agencies about the school and district award applications. Do you have doubts about ED-GRS? Some Frequently Asked Questions on all three award categories are available here.

NASA is inviting people around the world to submit their names to be etched on a microchip aboard a spacecraft headed to the asteroid Bennu in 2016.

The “Messages to Bennu!” microchip will travel to the asteroid aboard the Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security Regolith Explorer, or OSIRIS-REx, spacecraft. The robotic mission will spend more than two years at the asteroid, which has a width of approximately 1,760 feet (500 meters). The spacecraft will collect a sample of Bennu’s surface and return it to Earth in a sample return capsule.

The deadline to submit names online is Sept. 30, 2014. Participants who submit their names to the “Messages to Bennu!” campaign will be able to print a certificate of appreciation to document their involvement.

Participants who “follow” or “like” the mission on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/OSIRISREx) will receive updates on the location of their names in space from launch time until the asteroid samples return to Earth in 2023. Facebook fans also will receive mission progress and late-breaking news through regular status updates.

Free Lecture — From Air and Space to the Railroad and Beyond: An Evening With Brig. Gen. James A. McDivittAudience: All Educators and 9-Higher Education Students
Event Date: June 26, 2014, at 8 p.m. EDT

Free Education Webinar Series From NASA Educator Professional DevelopmentNASA Educator Professional Development is presenting a series of free webinars open to all educators. Join NASA education specialists to learn about activities, lesson plans, educator guides and resources to bring NASA into your classroom.

Climate Time Machine
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades K-12Event Date: June 12, 2014, at 4 p.m. EDT
Get an overview of climate change and standards-based ways to inspire students to think about our impact on the environment.

Humans in Space: Higher Standards of Living
Audience: Pre-service and In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 6-8Event Date: June 17, 2014, at 1 p.m. EDT
Explore how humans have adapted to the space environment, particularly on the International Space Station.

Call for Abstracts: 30th American Society for Gravitational and Space Research
Conference

A call for abstracts has been released for the 30th annual American Society for Gravitational and Space Research, or ASGSR, conference and the 28th Symposium on Gravity-Related Phenomena in Space Exploration. The meeting will take place Oct. 23-26, 2014, at The Westin Pasadena in California.

Abstracts must be submitted electronically no later than June 15, 2014, using the abstract submittal form and instructions posted on the ASGSR website. All submitted abstracts will be peer reviewed by the conference organizing committee.

All accepted abstracts from students will be presented as posters or orally in competitions. The student poster competition will be judged by society members, and monetary awards will be given during the banquet scheduled for Oct. 25, 2014. Student competition winners will be encouraged to submit an extended abstract or a communication article to the ASGSR journal “Gravitational and Space Research.” All students are expected to coordinate with their advisors when submitting an abstract for the conference.

Student travel assistance of up to $500 is available on a limited basis. Students requesting consideration for travel assistance should check the box on the abstract submittal form.

Student Spaceflight Experiments Program — Mission 7 to the International Space Station

The National Center for Earth and Space Science Education and the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Space Education, in partnership with NanoRacks LLC, announce an authentic science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, opportunity for school districts across the U.S. and space station partner nations. The newest flight opportunity, Mission 7 to the International Space Station, or ISS, gives students across a community the ability to design and propose real experiments to fly in low Earth orbit on the International Space Station. This opportunity is part of the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program, or SSEP.

Each participating community will receive a real microgravity research mini-laboratory capable of supporting a single microgravity experiment, and all launch services to fly the mini-lab to the space station in spring 2015 and return it to Earth. An experiment design competition in each community — engaging typically 300+ students — allows student teams to design and propose real experiments vying for their community’s reserved mini-lab. Content resources for teachers and students support foundational instruction on science in microgravity and experimental design. Additional SSEP programming leverages the experiment design competition to engage the community, embracing a learning community model for science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, education.

This competition is open to students in grades 5-12 and college. Informal education groups and organizations are also encouraged to participate. Interested communities must inquire about the program no later than June 15, 2014. The National Center for Earth and Space Science Education is available to help interested communities in the U.S. secure the needed funding.

SSEP is enabled through a strategic partnership with NanoRacks LLC working with NASA under a Space Act Agreement as part of the utilization of the International Space Station as a national laboratory. The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (http://www.iss-casis.org/) is a national partner on SSEP. To view a list of all SSEP national partners, visit http://ssep.ncesse.org/national-partners/.

If you have any questions about this opportunity, please email SSEP National Program Director Jeff Goldstein at jeffgoldstein@ncesse.org.

________________________________________________________________

Free Lecture — From Skylab to Interplanetary Space Weather: The Next Frontier

Before the Space Age, protecting ourselves meant looking after our resources on Earth. Now it includes our assets in space. Powerful solar storms have the potential to cripple our modern-day, high-tech society. Satellites bind us all together through communications and GPS. Deep space probes that collect and transmit images and data are now exploring the solar system, far beyond Earth’s protective magnetosphere.

On June 18, 2014, Madhulika (Lika) Guhathakurta, program scientist at NASA Headquarters, will discuss how the study of space weather is vital to the continued success of missions in space and to ensure minimal disruption to our lives here on Earth.

The lecture begins at 8 p.m. EDT at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, District of Columbia. Come early to see a free film and to meet the lecturer. The lecture will be webcast live.

White House Office of Science and Technology Policy’s Fall 2014 Policy Internship
Program

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, or OSTP, is seeking students for fall 2014 internships. The OSTP advises the President on the effects of science and technology on domestic and international affairs. The office serves as a source of scientific and technological analyses and judgment for the president with respect to major policies, plans and programs of the federal government

Policy internships are open to interested students from all majors and programs, including law school programs. Law students (and any other students) who are interested in policy may apply. Applicants must be U.S. citizens who are enrolled, at least half-time, in an accredited college or university during the period of volunteer service. Students in undergraduate, graduate and professional programs in all fields are encouraged to apply.

While these positions are without compensation, the assignments provide educational enrichment, practical work experience and networking opportunities with other individuals in the science and technology policy arena.

NASA and Center for the Advancement of Science in Space invite students and educators to chat with Mike Yagley, director of Research and Testing at Cobra Puma Golf, for an inside look at how space station research will help engineer a better golf club. From problem solving, designing, understanding materials, analyzing constructions and studying aerodynamics, a solid background in science, technology, engineering and mathematics is required to create golf products.

During the chat, ask your question by sending it via email to dlinfochannel@gmail.com or tweet the question with #askDLN.

The event will be webcast on the NASA DLiNfo Channel on Friday, June 20, 2014, at 2 p.m. EDT.

NASA is looking for the next generation of scientists, engineers and innovators. To jump-start the future of potential explorers, Women@NASA has created a mentoring project that offers a one-of-a-kind experience for middle school students. Participants will get to explore the possibilities of a career in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The project will feature one-on-one mentoring from NASA employees. Participants will complete online lessons with their mentors while virtually connected through Skype or Google Chat.

Applicants must be U.S. citizens in grades 5-8 or home-school equivalent. The mentoring project will take place over a five-week period during the summer.

Questions about this opportunity should be directed to hq-women@nasa.gov. ________________________________________________________________

Center for Astronomy Education Teaching Excellence Workshops

NASA’s Center for Astronomy Education, or CAE, announces a series of educator workshops for astronomy and space science educators.

These workshops provide participants with experiences needed to create effective and productive active-learning classroom environments. Workshop leaders model best practices in implementing many different classroom-tested instructional strategies. But more importantly, workshop participants will gain first-hand experience implementing these proven strategies. During many microteaching events, you will have the opportunity to role-play the parts of student and instructor. You will assess and critique each other’s implementation in real time as part of a supportive learning community. You will have the opportunity to use unfamiliar teaching techniques in collaboration with mentors before using them with your students. CAE is funded through NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Exoplanet Exploration Program.

June 23-27, 2014 — College Park, Md.New Faculty Workshop for Physics and Astronomy

August or September, 2014 — South CarolinaCAE Tier I Teaching Excellence Workshop for Current and Future Astronomy and Space Science Instructors

NASA is seeking proposals from universities to advance the agency’s plans for exploration to deep space and Mars. The Early Stage Innovations NASA Research Announcement calls for innovative space technology proposals that could benefit the space program, other government agencies and the greater aerospace community.

Aligned with NASA’s Space Technology Roadmaps and priorities identified by the National Research Council, NASA selected topic areas that lend themselves to pioneering approaches where U.S. universities can help solve tough space technology challenges.

“The sparks to fuel the fire of innovation that will develop the new space technologies of tomorrow reside within American universities,” said Michael Gazarik, NASA’s associate administrator for the Space Technology Mission Directorate in the District of Columbia. “These investments benefit government space technology development and our future missions, while also boosting economic growth and competitiveness.”

NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, or STMD, expects to make approximately 12 awards this fall, with total award amounts of up to $500,000. Research and development efforts will take place over two to three years.

Only accredited U.S. universities may submit proposals under this solicitation. Notices of intent to submit proposals to the Early Stage Innovations Appendix of NASA’s Research Announcement, Space Technology Research, Development, Demonstration and Infusion 2014 (SpaceTech-REDDI-2014), are due June 24, 2014. The deadline for submitting final proposals is July 21, 2014. To view the announcement and information for submitting proposals, visit: http://go.nasa.gov/1mRS9y8.

NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate is innovating, developing, testing and flying hardware for use in NASA’s future missions. Over the next 18 months, the directorate will make significant new investments to address several high-priority challenges for achieving safe and affordable deep space exploration.

The current topic areas support four of eight key STMD technology thrust areas: advanced life support and resource use, Mars entry descent and landing systems, space robotic systems, and lightweight space structures. Additionally, the technology topics solicited support the effort to send humans to Mars as well as outer planetary investment priorities.

For more information about NASA’s investments in space technology, visit:

Free Lecture — From Air and Space to the Railroad and Beyond: An Evening With Brig. Gen. James A. McDivitt

On June 26, 2014, former astronaut James A. McDivitt takes the podium to reflect on the various stages of his careers from the 1950s to the present. McDivitt was a pilot in the U.S. Air Force and logged over 5,000 flight hours before being selected as an astronaut in 1962. He flew a Gemini mission and commanded Apollo 9. Upon leaving NASA in 1972, McDivitt began another career in the energy, railroad and aerospace industries.

The lecture begins at 8 p.m. EDT at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, District of Columbia. The lecture will be webcast live.

Time is running out to have your students’ names flown aboard Orion during its first flight! NASA’s Exploration Design Challenge, or EDC, invites students around the world to think and act like scientists to overcome one of the major hurdles of deep space long-duration exploration — the dangers associated with space radiation. Students taking part in the challenge will discover how to plan and design improved radiation shielding aboard the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, currently being developed by NASA, Lockheed Martin and other partners to carry astronauts to space, venturing farther than humans have ever gone. Through a series of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, engagement activities, students in grades K-12 will analyze different materials that simulate space radiation shielding and recommend materials that best block radiation and protect astronauts.

The names of all students participating in the NASA EDC will fly aboard the spacecraft as honorary virtual crew members for Orion’s first flight. The deadline to register students for the virtual crew is June 30, 2014.

NASA’s Space Life and Physical Sciences Office and the International Space Station Program Office are seeking hypothesis-driven research concept papers that use the International Space Station as a microgravity platform in the space life and physical sciences disciplines.

Concept papers should describe ground-based research that can be enhanced by flying in a microgravity environment on the space station. Concept papers selected will have the opportunity to submit a full flight proposal based on the merit of the research presented. NASA anticipates selecting 10 submissions to receive monetary awards. Selected awardees will be invited to submit full proposals on their research, which may result in one flight opportunity for student researchers.

Graduate students and post-doctoral fellows from all categories of U.S. institutions who have never conducted or been involved in space research are eligible to submit papers. Student research and scientists from EPSCoR (Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research) jurisdiction institutions are specifically encouraged to participate.

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, mission is sponsoring a workshop for educators of students in grades 6-9. This workshop will focus on lunar science, exploration and how our understanding of the moon is evolving with the new data from current and recent lunar missions.

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has allowed scientists to measure the coldest known place in the solar system, map the surface of the moon in unprecedented detail and accuracy, find evidence of recent lunar geologic activity, characterize the radiation environment around the moon and its potential effects on future lunar explorers and much, much more!

Workshop participants will learn about these and other recent discoveries, reinforce their understanding of lunar science concepts, gain tools to help address common student misconceptions about the moon, interact with lunar scientists and engineers, work with LRO data and learn how to bring these data and information to their students using hands-on activities aligned with grades 6-9 National Science Education Standards and Benchmarks.

The workshop will take place July 14-18, 2014, at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Workshop participants will have the opportunity to tour the LRO Mission Operation Center and the Goddard spacecraft testing facilities.

Participants will receive a $200 stipend to help offset travel expenses.

Free Lecture — Exploring Pluto and Its Satellites at the Solar System’s Frontier

NASA’s New Horizons mission launched in 2006 and is approaching the Pluto system. It is the first mission to an outer planet since Voyager in 1989. On July 16, 2014, New Horizons team leader Alan Stern, Pluto scientist William McKinnon and science writer Dava Sobel will discuss the program’s goals for exploring the Pluto system next year and its place in the history of exploration.

The lecture begins at 8 p.m. EDT at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, District of Columbia.

U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools (ED-GRS) has introduced a new Postsecondary Sustainability Award for the 2014-2015 cycle. In addition to a total of five school and district nominees, each state may nominate one postsecondary institution for exemplary achievement in all three of the program’s Pillars: Reduced Environmental Impact and Costs, Improved Health and Wellness, and Effective Environmental and Sustainability Education. For this award, state selection committees are particularly encouraged to document how the nominees’ sustainability work has reduced college costs, increased completion rates, led to employment, and ensured robust civic skills among graduates; and to make an effort to consider diverse types of institutions. Interested colleges and universities should contact their state higher education authorities for information on how to apply in their states.

Like the PK-12 awards, this category is entirely voluntary. Hearing from interested colleges and universities may be helpful to state authorities considering 2014 – 2015 participation. State higher education authorities should contact U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools for more information. They can find updated criteria and other state implementation guidance on our website. All state authorities are encouraged to indicate their intent to nominate in 2015 by Aug. 1, 2014.

Competitions vary by state, but most states will be posting their applications in the fall with deadlines to submit to them in the winter. State authorities’ school, district and postsecondary nominations are due to the Department of Education by Feb. 1, 2015. Interested PK-12 schools and districts should continue to contact their state education agencies about the school and district award applications. Do you have doubts about ED-GRS? Some Frequently Asked Questions on all three award categories are available here.

NASA is inviting people around the world to submit their names to be etched on a microchip aboard a spacecraft headed to the asteroid Bennu in 2016.

The “Messages to Bennu!” microchip will travel to the asteroid aboard the Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security Regolith Explorer, or OSIRIS-REx, spacecraft. The robotic mission will spend more than two years at the asteroid, which has a width of approximately 1,760 feet (500 meters). The spacecraft will collect a sample of Bennu’s surface and return it to Earth in a sample return capsule.

The deadline to submit names online is Sept. 30, 2014. Participants who submit their names to the “Messages to Bennu!” campaign will be able to print a certificate of appreciation to document their involvement.

Participants who “follow” or “like” the mission on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/OSIRISREx) will receive updates on the location of their names in space from launch time until the asteroid samples return to Earth in 2023. Facebook fans also will receive mission progress and late-breaking news through regular status updates.

________________________________________________________________Now Available in Spanish — Energy Literacy: Essential Principles and Fundamental
Concepts for Energy Education
Are you looking for energy education materials in Spanish? Check out the new Spanish translation of the Energy LiteracyFramework, or ELF, Conocimiento de Energía, to engage energy educators and curriculum designers around the country. The U.S. Department of Energy led the development of the ELF, which was endorsed by 13 federal agencies and peer-reviewed by educators interested in a more comprehensive approach to teaching about energy. The multidisciplinary framework provides energy concepts that, if understood and applied, will help individuals and communities make informed energy decisions. This can lead to cost savings for the home and empower communities to become active in energy policies impacting their daily lives.

Using a multitude of resources; videos, lesson plans and hands-on activities, the Department of Energy wants to promote and encourage science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM, education, energy literacy, and excitement about energy careers. Get started today in learning about and applying a multidisciplinary approach to energy education – from the natural sciences to economics and other social sciences.

Free Lecture — From Air and Space to the Railroad and Beyond: An Evening With Brig. Gen. James A. McDivittAudience: All Educators and 9-Higher Education Students
Event Date: June 26, 2014, at 8 p.m. EDT

The National Space Biomedical Research Institute, or NSBRI, is accepting fellowship applications for the First Award Program. The two-year fellowships are available in any U.S. laboratory carrying out space-related biomedical or biotechnological research.

Applicants are required to submit proposals with the support of a mentor and an institution, and all proposals will be evaluated by a peer-review panel. Selected applicants receive a stipend, allowance for health insurance and travel funds for related scientific meetings. Also, an optional, competitive third year of fellowship support is available.

This year’s applicants can also request to be considered to spend part of the fellowship in Russia, via a program involving NSBRI and the Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow.

NSBRI, funded by NASA, is a consortia of institutions studying the health risks related to long-duration spaceflight and developing the medical technologies needed for long missions. The Institute’s science, technology and education projects take place at more than 60 institutions across the United States.

Rockets to Racecars Educator Professional Development Opportunity at Kentucky
Speedway

Get your students revved up about science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, with the NASA Rockets to Racecars STEM Education program’s special NICE Go Green Edition/The Heat is ON! Educators of grades 4-12 are encouraged to sign up today to attend one of the scheduled 75-minute virtual sessions outlined below. Attendees will be invited to show off their newly acquired skills alongside NASA educators during race days at Kentucky Speedway June 26-28, 2014.

Measure Up and Calculate
Event Date: June 9, 2014, at 6:30 p.m. EDT
Learn about an activity that teaches students about tire technology and the effects of air pressure by comparing and contrasting a section of tire from the space shuttle, a light truck and a bicycle.

May the Force Uplift You…Or NotEvent Date: June 11, 2014, at 6:30 p.m. EDT
Explore Bernoulli’s Principle by applying mathematics to interpret air pressure and airflow data on objects such as an airplane’s wing or a race car’s spoiler.

Free Education Webinar Series From NASA Educator Professional Development

NASA Educator Professional Development is presenting a series of free webinars open to all educators. Join NASA education specialists to learn about activities, lesson plans, educator guides and resources to bring NASA into your classroom.

Toys in Space: Exploring Forces, Motion, Energy and Fun
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 4-8Event Date: June 11, 2014, at 1 p.m. EDT
Compare, predict and observe how microgravity in space and gravity on Earth affect toys.

Climate Time Machine
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades K-12Event Date: June 12, 2014, at 4 p.m. EDT
Get an overview of climate change and standards-based ways to inspire students to think about our impact on the environment.

Humans in Space: Higher Standards of Living
Audience: Pre-service and In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 6-8Event Date: June 17, 2014, at 1 p.m. EDT
Explore how humans have adapted to the space environment, particularly on the International Space Station.

Call for Abstracts: 30th American Society for Gravitational and Space Research
Conference

A call for abstracts has been released for the 30th annual American Society for Gravitational and Space Research, or ASGSR, conference and the 28th Symposium on Gravity-Related Phenomena in Space Exploration. The meeting will take place Oct. 23-26, 2014, at The Westin Pasadena in California.

Abstracts must be submitted electronically no later than June 15, 2014, using the abstract submittal form and instructions posted on the ASGSR website. All submitted abstracts will be peer reviewed by the conference organizing committee.

All accepted abstracts from students will be presented as posters or orally in competitions. The student poster competition will be judged by society members, and monetary awards will be given during the banquet scheduled for Oct. 25, 2014. Student competition winners will be encouraged to submit an extended abstract or a communication article to the ASGSR journal “Gravitational and Space Research.” All students are expected to coordinate with their advisors when submitting an abstract for the conference.

Student travel assistance of up to $500 is available on a limited basis. Students requesting consideration for travel assistance should check the box on the abstract submittal form.

Student Spaceflight Experiments Program — Mission 7 to the International Space Station

The National Center for Earth and Space Science Education and the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Space Education, in partnership with NanoRacks LLC, announce an authentic science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, opportunity for school districts across the U.S. and space station partner nations. The newest flight opportunity, Mission 7 to the International Space Station, or ISS, gives students across a community the ability to design and propose real experiments to fly in low Earth orbit on the International Space Station. This opportunity is part of the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program, or SSEP.

Each participating community will receive a real microgravity research mini-laboratory capable of supporting a single microgravity experiment, and all launch services to fly the mini-lab to the space station in spring 2015 and return it to Earth. An experiment design competition in each community — engaging typically 300+ students — allows student teams to design and propose real experiments vying for their community’s reserved mini-lab. Content resources for teachers and students support foundational instruction on science in microgravity and experimental design. Additional SSEP programming leverages the experiment design competition to engage the community, embracing a learning community model for science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, education.

This competition is open to students in grades 5-12 and college. Informal education groups and organizations are also encouraged to participate. Interested communities must inquire about the program no later than June 15, 2014. The National Center for Earth and Space Science Education is available to help interested communities in the U.S. secure the needed funding.

SSEP is enabled through a strategic partnership with NanoRacks LLC working with NASA under a Space Act Agreement as part of the utilization of the International Space Station as a national laboratory. The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (http://www.iss-casis.org/) is a national partner on SSEP. To view a list of all SSEP national partners, visit http://ssep.ncesse.org/national-partners/.

If you have any questions about this opportunity, please email SSEP National Program Director Jeff Goldstein at jeffgoldstein@ncesse.org.

________________________________________________________________

Free Lecture — From Skylab to Interplanetary Space Weather: The Next Frontier

Before the Space Age, protecting ourselves meant looking after our resources on Earth. Now it includes our assets in space. Powerful solar storms have the potential to cripple our modern-day, high-tech society. Satellites bind us all together through communications and GPS. Deep space probes that collect and transmit images and data are now exploring the solar system, far beyond Earth’s protective magnetosphere.

On June 18, 2014, Madhulika (Lika) Guhathakurta, program scientist at NASA Headquarters, will discuss how the study of space weather is vital to the continued success of missions in space and to ensure minimal disruption to our lives here on Earth.

The lecture begins at 8 p.m. EDT at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, District of Columbia. Come early to see a free film and to meet the lecturer. The lecture will be webcast live.

White House Office of Science and Technology Policy’s Fall 2014 Policy Internship
Program

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, or OSTP, is seeking students for fall 2014 internships. The OSTP advises the President on the effects of science and technology on domestic and international affairs. The office serves as a source of scientific and technological analyses and judgment for the president with respect to major policies, plans and programs of the federal government

Policy internships are open to interested students from all majors and programs, including law school programs. Law students (and any other students) who are interested in policy may apply. Applicants must be U.S. citizens who are enrolled, at least half-time, in an accredited college or university during the period of volunteer service. Students in undergraduate, graduate and professional programs in all fields are encouraged to apply.

While these positions are without compensation, the assignments provide educational enrichment, practical work experience and networking opportunities with other individuals in the science and technology policy arena.

If you have questions about this opportunity, please contact Rebecca Grimm at rgrimm@ostp.eop.gov.

________________________________________________________________

NASA’s Digital Learning Network Event — Engineering for a Hole-in-One

NASA and Center for the Advancement of Science in Space invite students and educators to chat with Mike Yagley, director of Research and Testing at Cobra Puma Golf, for an inside look at how space station research will help engineer a better golf club. From problem solving, designing, understanding materials, analyzing constructions and studying aerodynamics, a solid background in science, technology, engineering and mathematics is required to create golf products.

During the chat, ask your question by sending it via email to dlinfochannel@gmail.com or tweet the question with #askDLN.

The event will be webcast on the NASA DLiNfo Channel on Friday, June 20, 2014, at 2 p.m. EDT.

NASA is looking for the next generation of scientists, engineers and innovators. To jump-start the future of potential explorers, Women@NASA has created a mentoring project that offers a one-of-a-kind experience for middle school students. Participants will get to explore the possibilities of a career in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The project will feature one-on-one mentoring from NASA employees. Participants will complete online lessons with their mentors while virtually connected through Skype or Google Chat.

Applicants must be U.S. citizens in grades 5-8 or home-school equivalent. The mentoring project will take place over a five-week period during the summer.

Questions about this opportunity should be directed to hq-women@nasa.gov. ________________________________________________________________

Center for Astronomy Education Teaching Excellence Workshops

NASA’s Center for Astronomy Education, or CAE, announces a series of educator workshops for astronomy and space science educators.

These workshops provide participants with experiences needed to create effective and productive active-learning classroom environments. Workshop leaders model best practices in implementing many different classroom-tested instructional strategies. But more importantly, workshop participants will gain first-hand experience implementing these proven strategies. During many microteaching events, you will have the opportunity to role-play the parts of student and instructor. You will assess and critique each other’s implementation in real time as part of a supportive learning community. You will have the opportunity to use unfamiliar teaching techniques in collaboration with mentors before using them with your students. CAE is funded through NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Exoplanet Exploration Program.

June 23-27, 2014 — College Park, Md.New Faculty Workshop for Physics and Astronomy

August or September, 2014 — South CarolinaCAE Tier I Teaching Excellence Workshop for Current and Future Astronomy and Space Science Instructors

Free Lecture — From Air and Space to the Railroad and Beyond: An Evening With Brig. Gen. James A. McDivitt

On June 26, 2014, former astronaut James A. McDivitt takes the podium to reflect on the various stages of his careers from the 1950s to the present. McDivitt was a pilot in the U.S. Air Force and logged over 5,000 flight hours before being selected as an astronaut in 1962. He flew a Gemini mission and commanded Apollo 9. Upon leaving NASA in 1972, McDivitt began another career in the energy, railroad and aerospace industries.

The lecture begins at 8 p.m. EDT at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, District of Columbia. The lecture will be webcast live.

Time is running out to have your students’ names flown aboard Orion during its first flight! NASA’s Exploration Design Challenge, or EDC, invites students around the world to think and act like scientists to overcome one of the major hurdles of deep space long-duration exploration — the dangers associated with space radiation. Students taking part in the challenge will discover how to plan and design improved radiation shielding aboard the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, currently being developed by NASA, Lockheed Martin and other partners to carry astronauts to space, venturing farther than humans have ever gone. Through a series of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, engagement activities, students in grades K-12 will analyze different materials that simulate space radiation shielding and recommend materials that best block radiation and protect astronauts.

The names of all students participating in the NASA EDC will fly aboard the spacecraft as honorary virtual crew members for Orion’s first flight. The deadline to register students for the virtual crew is June 30, 2014.

NASA’s Space Life and Physical Sciences Office and the International Space Station Program Office are seeking hypothesis-driven research concept papers that use the International Space Station as a microgravity platform in the space life and physical sciences disciplines.

Concept papers should describe ground-based research that can be enhanced by flying in a microgravity environment on the space station. Concept papers selected will have the opportunity to submit a full flight proposal based on the merit of the research presented. NASA anticipates selecting 10 submissions to receive monetary awards. Selected awardees will be invited to submit full proposals on their research, which may result in one flight opportunity for student researchers.

Graduate students and post-doctoral fellows from all categories of U.S. institutions who have never conducted or been involved in space research are eligible to submit papers. Student research and scientists from EPSCoR (Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research) jurisdiction institutions are specifically encouraged to participate.

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, mission is sponsoring a workshop for educators of students in grades 6-9. This workshop will focus on lunar science, exploration and how our understanding of the moon is evolving with the new data from current and recent lunar missions.

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has allowed scientists to measure the coldest known place in the solar system, map the surface of the moon in unprecedented detail and accuracy, find evidence of recent lunar geologic activity, characterize the radiation environment around the moon and its potential effects on future lunar explorers and much, much more!

Workshop participants will learn about these and other recent discoveries, reinforce their understanding of lunar science concepts, gain tools to help address common student misconceptions about the moon, interact with lunar scientists and engineers, work with LRO data and learn how to bring these data and information to their students using hands-on activities aligned with grades 6-9 National Science Education Standards and Benchmarks.

The workshop will take place July 14-18, 2014, at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Workshop participants will have the opportunity to tour the LRO Mission Operation Center and the Goddard spacecraft testing facilities.

Participants will receive a $200 stipend to help offset travel expenses.

Free Lecture — Exploring Pluto and Its Satellites at the Solar System’s Frontier

NASA’s New Horizons mission launched in 2006 and is approaching the Pluto system. It is the first mission to an outer planet since Voyager in 1989. On July 16, 2014, New Horizons team leader Alan Stern, Pluto scientist William McKinnon and science writer Dava Sobel will discuss the program’s goals for exploring the Pluto system next year and its place in the history of exploration.

The lecture begins at 8 p.m. EDT at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, District of Columbia.

NASA is inviting people around the world to submit their names to be etched on a microchip aboard a spacecraft headed to the asteroid Bennu in 2016.

The “Messages to Bennu!” microchip will travel to the asteroid aboard the Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security Regolith Explorer, or OSIRIS-REx, spacecraft. The robotic mission will spend more than two years at the asteroid, which has a width of approximately 1,760 feet (500 meters). The spacecraft will collect a sample of Bennu’s surface and return it to Earth in a sample return capsule.

The deadline to submit names online is Sept. 30, 2014. Participants who submit their names to the “Messages to Bennu!” campaign will be able to print a certificate of appreciation to document their involvement.

Participants who “follow” or “like” the mission on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/OSIRISREx) will receive updates on the location of their names in space from launch time until the asteroid samples return to Earth in 2023. Facebook fans also will receive mission progress and late-breaking news through regular status updates.

Free Lecture — From Air and Space to the Railroad and Beyond: An Evening With Brig. Gen. James A. McDivittAudience: All Educators and 9-Higher Education Students
Event Date: June 26, 2014, at 8 p.m. EDT

Student Spaceflight Experiments Program — Mission 7 to the International Space Station

The National Center for Earth and Space Science Education and the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Space Education, in partnership with NanoRacks LLC, announce an authentic science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, opportunity for school districts across the U.S. and space station partner nations. The newest flight opportunity, Mission 7 to the International Space Station, or ISS, gives students across a community the ability to design and propose real experiments to fly in low Earth orbit on the International Space Station. This opportunity is part of the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program, or SSEP.

Each participating community will receive a real microgravity research mini-laboratory capable of supporting a single microgravity experiment, and all launch services to fly the mini-lab to the space station in spring 2015 and return it to Earth. An experiment design competition in each community — engaging typically 300+ students — allows student teams to design and propose real experiments vying for their community’s reserved mini-lab. Content resources for teachers and students support foundational instruction on science in microgravity and experimental design. Additional SSEP programming leverages the experiment design competition to engage the community, embracing a learning community model for science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, education.

This competition is open to students in grades 5-12 and college. Informal education groups and organizations are also encouraged to participate. Interested communities must inquire about the program no later than May 30, 2014. The National Center for Earth and Space Science Education is available to help interested communities in the U.S. secure the needed funding.

SSEP is enabled through a strategic partnership with NanoRacks LLC working with NASA under a Space Act Agreement as part of the utilization of the International Space Station as a national laboratory. The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (http://www.iss-casis.org/) is a national partner on SSEP. To view a list of all SSEP national partners, visit http://ssep.ncesse.org/national-partners/.

If you have any questions about this opportunity, please email SSEP National Program Director Jeff Goldstein at jeffgoldstein@ncesse.org.

The Virginia Space Grant Consortium, or VSGC, is offering renewable scholarships to sophomore undergraduate students studying science, technology, engineering or mathematics, or STEM. The STEM Bridge Scholarships are $1,000 and are available to students who are U.S. citizens from any federally recognized minority group enrolled fulltime at one of the five VSGC member universities: The College of William and Mary, Hampton University, Old Dominion University, University of Virginia and Virginia Tech.

The STEM Bridge Program bridges students to future opportunities by mentoring and guiding them to future VSGC scholarships and NASA-related paid internships. The program encourages students to explore how their majors can apply to NASA’s Mission.

This is a competitive program, and awards are based on student academic merit, quality of interest essay as well as letters of recommendation from current college faculty who can attest to students’ interest in STEM areas.

The deadline for submitting applications has been extended to May 30, 2014.

NASA’s Center for Astronomy Education, or CAE, announces a series of educator workshops for astronomy and space science educators.

These workshops provide participants with experiences needed to create effective and productive active-learning classroom environments. Workshop leaders model best practices in implementing many different classroom-tested instructional strategies. But more importantly, workshop participants will gain first-hand experience implementing these proven strategies. During many microteaching events, you will have the opportunity to role-play the parts of student and instructor. You will assess and critique each other’s implementation in real time as part of a supportive learning community. You will have the opportunity to use unfamiliar teaching techniques in collaboration with mentors before using them with your students. CAE is funded through NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Exoplanet Exploration Program.

The NASA History Program Office is seeking undergraduate and graduate students for fall 2014 internships. The History Program Office maintains archival materials to answer research questions from NASA personnel, journalists, scholars, students at all levels and others from around the world. The division also edits and publishes several books and monographs each year. It maintains a large number of websites on NASA history.

Students of all majors are welcome to apply. While detailed prior knowledge of the aeronautics and space fields is not necessary, a keen interest and some basic familiarity with these topics are needed. Strong research, writing and editing skills are essential. Experience with social media is a plus.

Intern projects are flexible. Typical projects include handling a variety of information requests, writing posts for the NASA history twitter and Facebook pages, editing historical manuscripts, doing research and writing biographical sketches, and identifying and captioning photos.

The Solar System Exploration Pre-Service Teacher Institute is a free workshop for future middle school science teachers and the educators who mentor them. Presented by the NASA Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute, the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and the Lunar Planetary Institute, the workshop will take place in Houston, Texas.

Workshop participants will explore questions relating to the nature of science and how scientists conduct their work. Planetary scientists will be available to discuss their research and recent discoveries. Hands-on activities will be demonstrated, and participants will discover ways to connect solar system topics to Earth science, life science and physical science. A tour of the lunar rock laboratory at NASA’s Johnson Space Center is also planned.

The workshop will take place June 23-27, 2014. Registration is free, and lunches are included. Participants will receive a certificate for professional development hours.

Applications are now being accepted for 2015 NASA Aeronautics Scholarships. The program awards scholarships focused on aeronautical research and related degree programs at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate sponsors the program.

Undergraduate students with at least two years of study remaining will receive up to $15,000 per year for two years and the opportunity to receive a $10,000 stipend by interning at a NASA research center during the summer. Graduate students receive up to $46,000 per year for up to three years, with an opportunity to receive a $10,000 stipend interning at a NASA research center for up to two consecutive summers. Applicants must be citizens or nationals of the United States.

Due to the One Stop Shopping Initiative maintenance, the scholarship application deadline has been extended to June 2, 2014.

Applications should be submitted through the NASA One Stop Shopping Initiative at https://intern.nasa.gov/. Applicants should be sure to select “scholarships” for the type of application.

The NASA Office of Education is accepting applications for NASA Scholars. The NASA Scholarship is a competitive opportunity that focuses on students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, disciplines, to address the critical shortage of qualified STEM professionals that the nation is facing.

Eligible students include rising freshman (high school graduating seniors or GED recipients not yet enrolled in college), sophomores and juniors, at the undergraduate level, who will complete their undergraduate degree in spring 2016 or later and community college students with at least two years remaining at the community college.

The scholarship includes up to a $9,000 academic scholarship, not to exceed 75 percent of verified tuition, and a $6,000 stipend for a 10-week internship at a NASA center during summer 2015. The internship provides scholars with a unique NASA research experience and preparation for global competitiveness.

Due to the One Stop Shopping Initiative maintenance, the scholarship application deadline has been extended to June 2, 2014.

Applications should be submitted through the NASA One Stop Shopping Initiative at https://intern.nasa.gov. Applicants should be sure to select “scholarships” for the type of application.NASA Office of Education scholarships cannot be concurrently accepted or combined with another U.S. government scholarship or funding, irrespective of the scholar’s status.

NASA’s Office of Education is accepting applications for Minority University Research and Education Program Scholars. The MUREP Scholarship is a competitive opportunity that focuses on underserved and underrepresented students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, disciplines, to address the critical shortage of qualified STEM professionals that the nation is facing.

Eligible students include rising freshman (high school graduating seniors or GED recipients not yet enrolled in college), sophomores and juniors, at the undergraduate level, who will complete their undergraduate degree in spring 2016 or later and Minority Serving Institution community college students with at least two years remaining at the community college.

The goal is to address the agency’s mission-specific workforce needs and target areas of national need in minority STEM representation. The scholarship includes up to a $9,000 academic scholarship, not to exceed 75 percent of verified tuition, and a $6,000 stipend for a required 10-week internship at a NASA center during summer 2015. The internship provides scholars with a unique NASA research experience and preparation for global competitiveness.

Due to the One Stop Shopping Initiative maintenance, the scholarship application deadline has been extended to June 2, 2014.

Applications should be submitted through the NASA One Stop Shopping Initiative at https://intern.nasa.gov/. Applicants should be sure to select “scholarships” for the type of application.

MUREP scholarships cannot be concurrently accepted or combined with another U.S. government scholarship or funding, irrespective of the scholar’s status.

______________________________________________________________________________Rockets to Racecars Educator Professional Development Opportunity at Kentucky Speedway

Get your students revved up about science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, with the NASA Rockets to Racecars STEM Education program’s special NICE Go Green Edition/The Heat is ON! Educators of grades 4-12 are encouraged to sign up today to attend one of the scheduled 75-minute virtual sessions outlined below. Attendees will be invited to show off their newly acquired skills alongside NASA educators during race days at Kentucky Speedway June 26-28, 2014.

Drag Race to Mars
Event Date: June 3, 2014, at 5:30 p.m. EDT
Learn about an activity that bridges science and mathematics by challenging students to design a capsule to land on Mars.

Teacher Program at Kentucky Speedway
Event Date: June 4, 2014, at 6:30 p.m. EDT
Learn about an activity that challenges students to design an efficient solar oven and discover how solar energy is currently used to power a NASCAR track.

Measure Up and Calculate
Event Date: June 9, 2014, at 6:30 p.m. EDT
Learn about an activity that teaches students about tire technology and the effects of air pressure by comparing and contrasting a section of tire from the space shuttle, a light truck and a bicycle.

May the Force Uplift You…Or NotEvent Date: June 11, 2014, at 6:30 p.m. EDT
Explore Bernoulli’s Principle by applying mathematics to interpret air pressure and airflow data on objects such as an airplane’s wing or a race car’s spoiler.

The National Space Biomedical Research Institute, or NSBRI, is accepting fellowship applications for the First Award Program. The two-year fellowships are available in any U.S. laboratory carrying out space-related biomedical or biotechnological research.

Applicants are required to submit proposals with the support of a mentor and an institution, and all proposals will be evaluated by a peer-review panel. Selected applicants receive a stipend, allowance for health insurance and travel funds for related scientific meetings. Also, an optional, competitive third year of fellowship support is available.

This year’s applicants can also request to be considered to spend part of the fellowship in Russia, via a program involving NSBRI and the Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow.

NSBRI, funded by NASA, is a consortia of institutions studying the health risks related to long-duration spaceflight and developing the medical technologies needed for long missions. The Institute’s science, technology and education projects take place at more than 60 institutions across the United States.

Call for Abstracts: 30th American Society for Gravitational and Space Research Conference

A call for abstracts has been released for the 30th annual American Society for Gravitational and Space Research, or ASGSR, conference and the 28th Symposium on Gravity-Related Phenomena in Space Exploration. The meeting will take place Oct. 23-26, 2014, at The Westin Pasadena in California.

Abstracts must be submitted electronically no later than June 15, 2014, using the abstract submittal form and instructions posted on the ASGSR website. All submitted abstracts will be peer reviewed by the conference organizing committee.

All accepted abstracts from students will be presented as posters or orally in competitions. The student poster competition will be judged by society members, and monetary awards will be given during the banquet scheduled for Oct. 25, 2014. Student competition winners will be encouraged to submit an extended abstract or a communication article to the ASGSR journal “Gravitational and Space Research.” All students are expected to coordinate with their advisors when submitting an abstract for the conference.

Student travel assistance of up to $500 is available on a limited basis. Students requesting consideration for travel assistance should check the box on the abstract submittal form.

Free Lecture — From Skylab to Interplanetary Space Weather: The Next Frontier

Before the Space Age, protecting ourselves meant looking after our resources on Earth. Now it includes our assets in space. Powerful solar storms have the potential to cripple our modern-day, high-tech society. Satellites bind us all together through communications and GPS. Deep space probes that collect and transmit images and data are now exploring the solar system, far beyond Earth’s protective magnetosphere.

On June 18, 2014, Madhulika (Lika) Guhathakurta, program scientist at NASA Headquarters, will discuss how the study of space weather is vital to the continued success of missions in space and to ensure minimal disruption to our lives here on Earth.

The lecture begins at 8 p.m. EDT at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, District of Columbia. Come early to see a free film and to meet the lecturer. The lecture will be webcast live.

White House Office of Science and Technology Policy’s Fall 2014 Policy Internship Program

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, or OSTP, is seeking students for fall 2014 internships. The OSTP advises the President on the effects of science and technology on domestic and international affairs. The office serves as a source of scientific and technological analyses and judgment for the president with respect to major policies, plans and programs of the federal government

Policy internships are open to interested students from all majors and programs, including law school programs. Law students (and any other students) who are interested in policy may apply. Applicants must be U.S. citizens who are enrolled, at least half-time, in an accredited college or university during the period of volunteer service. Students in undergraduate, graduate and professional programs in all fields are encouraged to apply.

While these positions are without compensation, the assignments provide educational enrichment, practical work experience and networking opportunities with other individuals in the science and technology policy arena.

Free Lecture — From Air and Space to the Railroad and Beyond: An Evening With Brig. Gen. James A. McDivitt

On June 26, 2014, former astronaut James A. McDivitt takes the podium to reflect on the various stages of his careers from the 1950s to the present. McDivitt was a pilot in the U.S. Air Force and logged over 5,000 flight hours before being selected as an astronaut in 1962. He flew a Gemini mission and commanded Apollo 9. Upon leaving NASA in 1972, McDivitt began another career in the energy, railroad and aerospace industries.

The lecture begins at 8 p.m. EDT at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, District of Columbia. The lecture will be webcast live.

Time is running out to have your students’ names flown aboard Orion during its first flight! NASA’s Exploration Design Challenge, or EDC, invites students around the world to think and act like scientists to overcome one of the major hurdles of deep space long-duration exploration — the dangers associated with space radiation. Students taking part in the challenge will discover how to plan and design improved radiation shielding aboard the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, currently being developed by NASA, Lockheed Martin and other partners to carry astronauts to space, venturing farther than humans have ever gone. Through a series of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, engagement activities, students in grades K-12 will analyze different materials that simulate space radiation shielding and recommend materials that best block radiation and protect astronauts.

The names of all students participating in the NASA EDC will fly aboard the spacecraft as honorary virtual crew members for Orion’s first flight. The deadline to register students for the virtual crew is June 30, 2014.

NASA’s Space Life and Physical Sciences Office and the International Space Station Program Office are seeking hypothesis-driven research concept papers that use the International Space Station as a microgravity platform in the space life and physical sciences disciplines.

Concept papers should describe ground-based research that can be enhanced by flying in a microgravity environment on the space station. Concept papers selected will have the opportunity to submit a full flight proposal based on the merit of the research presented. NASA anticipates selecting 10 submissions to receive monetary awards. Selected awardees will be invited to submit full proposals on their research, which may result in one flight opportunity for student researchers.

Graduate students and post-doctoral fellows from all categories of U.S. institutions who have never conducted or been involved in space research are eligible to submit papers. Student research and scientists from EPSCoR (Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research) jurisdiction institutions are specifically encouraged to participate.

Free Lecture — Exploring Pluto and Its Satellites at the Solar System’s Frontier

NASA’s New Horizons mission launched in 2006 and is approaching the Pluto system. It is the first mission to an outer planet since Voyager in 1989. On July 16, 2014, New Horizons team leader Alan Stern, Pluto scientist William McKinnon and science writer Dava Sobel will discuss the program’s goals for exploring the Pluto system next year and its place in the history of exploration.

The lecture begins at 8 p.m. EDT at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, District of Columbia.

The Zero Robotics High School Tournament 2014 will take place this fall, offering U. S. high school students the opportunity to design experiments that will be tested in space.

Zero Robotics challenges high school student teams to write their own algorithms to fly the Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites, or SPHERES. The competition starts online where teams compete to solve an annual challenge guided by mentors. Students can create, edit, share, save, simulate and submit code from a Web browser. After several phases of virtual competition, finalists will be selected to compete in a live championship aboard the International Space Station.

Registration for the competition closes on Sept. 5, 2014. The competition begins with a live webcast kickoff event from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Sept. 6, 2014.

Zero Robotics is organized by Massachusetts Institute of Technology Space Systems Laboratory, Aurora Flight Sciences Corporation and TopCoder, and is sponsored by The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, NASA and the Center for Advancement of Science in Space.

As part of a series of electronic professional development experiences, the NASA Explorer Schools project and the National Science Teachers Association are hosting a free 90-minute Web seminar on May 22, 2014 at 6:30 p.m. EDT. Learn about the relationships between air pressure, temperature, volume and cloud formation. Information will be provided about an extension activity, the Students’ Cloud Observations Online, or S’COOL, Project, which involves student participation in authentic science.

The featured activity provides opportunities for incorporating national science, technology and mathematics learning standards into the curricula and addresses middle school Next Generation Science Standards.

This is the last time this seminar will be offered during the current school year.

NASA’s Langley Research Center’s Office of Education and the National Institute of Aerospace’s Center for Integrative STEM Education are sponsoring a two-week Pre-Service Teacher Institute taking place July 21 – Aug. 1, 2014, in Hampton, Virginia.

Participants will engage in hands-on learning experiences designed to develop their skills for teaching science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, using NASA-developed curricular resources. Participants will have opportunities to interact with NASA scientists and engineers, making real-world connections to standards-based classroom content.

Undergraduate and graduate students in an education track preparing to teach in K-8 classrooms are invited to apply. Students who participate will receive a stipend for attending.

Exploration of the Moon and Asteroids by Secondary Students High School Research Program

The Center for Lunar Science and Exploration at the Lunar and Planetary Institute and NASA’s Johnson Space Center are looking for 10 teams of motivated high school students to participate in a national standards-based lunar/asteroid research program for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Supported by their teacher and a scientist mentor, students undertake open-inquiry research projects that engage them in the process of science and support the science goals of the NASA Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute. At the end of the year, four teams compete for a chance to present their research at the Exploration Science Forum held at NASA’s Ames Research Center in July 2015.

Participation in the Exploration of the Moon and Asteroids by Secondary Students, or ExMASS, program is free. Interested teachers must submit an application. Applications must be completed by a teacher and are due May 23, 2014.

NASA invites eligible U.S. educational institutions, museums and other organizations to screen and request historical artifacts of significance to spaceflight. This is the 22nd screening of artifacts since 2009.

Eligible schools, universities, museums, libraries and planetariums may view the artifacts and request specific items through May 26, 2014. Online registrations should include an assigned Department of Education number. Registration also can be made through the requester’s State Agency for Surplus Property office. For instructions, registration and to view and make requests for artifacts online, visit http://gsaxcess.gov/NASAWel.htm.

The artifacts are free of charge and are offered “as-is.” Organizations must cover shipping costs and any handling fees. Shipping fees on smaller items will be relatively inexpensive, while larger items may involve extensive disassembly, preparation, shipping and reassembly costs. NASA will work closely with eligible organizations to address any unique handling costs.

NASA is seeking proposals for the development of new, more capable energy storage technologies to replace the battery technology that has long powered America’s space program.

The core technologies solicited in the call for proposals will advance energy storage solutions for the space program and other government agencies. NASA’s solicitation has two category areas: “High Specific Energy System Level Concepts,” which will focus on cell chemistry and system-level battery technologies, such as packaging and cell integration; and “Very High Specific Energy Devices,” which will focus on energy storage technologies that can go beyond the current theoretical limits of Lithium batteries while maintaining the cycle life and safety characteristics demanded of energy storage systems used in space applications.

Proposals will be accepted from NASA centers and other government agencies, federally funded research and development centers, educational institutions, industry and nonprofit organizations. NASA expects to make approximately four awards for Phase I of the solicitation, ranging in value up to $250,000 each.

Through solicitations and grants, NASA’s investments in space technology provide the transformative capabilities to enable new missions, stimulate the economy, contribute to the nation’s global competitiveness and inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers and explorers.

Rockets to Racecars Educator Professional Development Opportunity at Kentucky Speedway

Get your students revved up about science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, with the NASA Rockets to Racecars STEM Education program’s special NICE Go Green Edition/The Heat is ON! Educators of grades 4-12 are encouraged to sign up today to attend one of the scheduled 75-minute virtual sessions outlined below. Attendees will be invited to show off their newly acquired skills alongside NASA educators during race days at Kentucky Speedway June 26-28, 2014.

Teacher Program at Kentucky Speedway
Event Date: May 27, 2014, at 6:30 p.m. EDT and June 4, 2014, at 6:30 p.m. EDT
Learn about an activity that challenges students to design an efficient solar oven and discover how solar energy is currently used to power a NASCAR track.

Drag Race to Mars
Event Date: June 3, 2014, at 5:30 p.m. EDT
Learn about an activity that bridges science and mathematics by challenging students to design a capsule to land on Mars.

Measure Up and Calculate
Event Date: June 9, 2014, at 6:30 p.m. EDT
Learn about an activity that teaches students about tire technology and the effects of air pressure by comparing and contrasting a section of tire from the space shuttle, a light truck and a bicycle.

May the Force Uplift You…Or NotEvent Date: June 11, 2014, at 6:30 p.m. EDT
Explore Bernoulli’s Principle by applying mathematics to interpret air pressure and airflow data on objects such as an airplane’s wing or a race car’s spoiler.

NASA Explorer Schools and the National Science Teachers Association are hosting a 90-minute live professional development Web seminar for educators on May 28, 2014, at 6:30 p.m. EDT. During this professional development session, participants will receive information about the applications of linear equations at NASA and learn how to implement the “Breaking Barriers” student activity. “Breaking Barriers” provides students with an opportunity to step into the shoes of a NASA engineer to design, build and test an X-1 balloon.

The featured activity provides many opportunities for incorporating national science, technology and mathematics learning standards into curricula as well as addressing middle school Next Generation Science Standards.

This is the last time this seminar will be offered during the current school year.

NASA’s Office of Education is accepting proposals from Designated, Program Grant and Capability Enhancement consortia for a 2014 Space Grant opportunity for community college and technical school students and faculty. Each funded proposal is expected to engage community college and technical school faculty and undergraduate students enrolled in STEM degree programs, or the equivalent of the available general/liberal arts degree program with a STEM focus.

This opportunity is open to Space Grant consortia in each state plus the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Proposals must be submitted to NASA from the lead Space Grant institution in each consortium, with the consortium director serving as the lead principal investigator for any proposed effort. Only one proposal per consortium is permitted for submission.

Interested parties are requested to submit a notice of intent by April 14, 2014. Proposals are due May 28, 2014.

Graduate Research Awards for Applied Research in Public Sector Airport-Related Aviation Issues

The Virginia Space Grant Consortium is managing the Graduate Research Award program for the Airport Cooperative Research Program of the National Academies Transportation Research Board. The program supports applied research in public sector airport-related issues.

Under the program, up to 10 awards of $10,000 each will be made to full-time graduate students for successful completion of a research paper on public sector airport-related aviation issues during the upcoming academic year. The research must be overseen by a faculty advisor.

The program provides funding, subject matter expert support, national recognition and publication potential through the Transportation Research Record of the Transportation Research Board. Students also have an expense-paid opportunity to present on their work at the Transportation Research Board’s annual meeting in January 2016 in Washington, D.C.

Free Education Webinar Series From NASA Educator Professional Development

NASA Educator Professional Development is presenting a series of free webinars open to all educators. Join NASA education specialists to learn about activities, lesson plans, educator guides and resources to bring NASA into your classroom.

Robotics Without Electronics
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 5-8
Event Date: May 29, 2014, at 4:30 p.m. EDT
Explore how to use inexpensive robotics the classroom to enhance students’ understanding of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Digestion in Space
Audience: Pre-service and In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades K-12
Event Date: June 5, 2014, at 11 a.m. EDT
Learn about NASA’s research on preparing, packaging and serving food for astronauts. Then, calculate the caloric requirements for humans on the space station.

Questions about this series of webinars should be directed to Phyllis Alford at palford@paragon-tec.com.______________________________________________________________________________

Student Spaceflight Experiments Program — Mission 7 to the International Space Station

The National Center for Earth and Space Science Education and the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Space Education, in partnership with NanoRacks LLC, announce an authentic science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, opportunity for school districts across the U.S. and space station partner nations. The newest flight opportunity, Mission 7 to the International Space Station, or ISS, gives students across a community the ability to design and propose real experiments to fly in low Earth orbit on the International Space Station. This opportunity is part of the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program, or SSEP.

Each participating community will receive a real microgravity research mini-laboratory capable of supporting a single microgravity experiment, and all launch services to fly the mini-lab to the space station in spring 2015 and return it to Earth. An experiment design competition in each community — engaging typically 300+ students — allows student teams to design and propose real experiments vying for their community’s reserved mini-lab. Content resources for teachers and students support foundational instruction on science in microgravity and experimental design. Additional SSEP programming leverages the experiment design competition to engage the community, embracing a learning community model for science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, education.

This competition is open to students in grades 5-12 and college. Informal education groups and organizations are also encouraged to participate. Interested communities must inquire about the program no later than May 30, 2014. The National Center for Earth and Space Science Education is available to help interested communities in the U.S. secure the needed funding.

SSEP is enabled through a strategic partnership with NanoRacks LLC working with NASA under a Space Act Agreement as part of the utilization of the International Space Station as a national laboratory. The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (http://www.iss-casis.org/) is a national partner on SSEP. To view a list of all SSEP national partners, visit http://ssep.ncesse.org/national-partners/.

If you have any questions about this opportunity, please email SSEP National Program Director Jeff Goldstein at jeffgoldstein@ncesse.org.

The Virginia Space Grant Consortium, or VSGC, is offering renewable scholarships to sophomore undergraduate students studying science, technology, engineering or mathematics, or STEM. The STEM Bridge Scholarships are $1,000 and are available to students who are U.S. citizens from any federally recognized minority group enrolled fulltime at one of the five VSGC member universities: The College of William and Mary, Hampton University, Old Dominion University, University of Virginia and Virginia Tech.

The STEM Bridge Program bridges students to future opportunities by mentoring and guiding them to future VSGC scholarships and NASA-related paid internships. The program encourages students to explore how their majors can apply to NASA’s Mission.

This is a competitive program, and awards are based on student academic merit, quality of interest essay as well as letters of recommendation from current college faculty who can attest to students’ interest in STEM areas.

The deadline for submitting applications has been extended to May 30, 2014.

NASA’s Center for Astronomy Education, or CAE, announces a series of educator workshops for astronomy and space science educators.

These workshops provide participants with experiences needed to create effective and productive active-learning classroom environments. Workshop leaders model best practices in implementing many different classroom-tested instructional strategies. But more importantly, workshop participants will gain first-hand experience implementing these proven strategies. During many microteaching events, you will have the opportunity to role-play the parts of student and instructor. You will assess and critique each other’s implementation in real time as part of a supportive learning community. You will have the opportunity to use unfamiliar teaching techniques in collaboration with mentors before using them with your students. CAE is funded through NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Exoplanet Exploration Program.

The NASA History Program Office is seeking undergraduate and graduate students for fall 2014 internships. The History Program Office maintains archival materials to answer research questions from NASA personnel, journalists, scholars, students at all levels and others from around the world. The division also edits and publishes several books and monographs each year. It maintains a large number of websites on NASA history.

Students of all majors are welcome to apply. While detailed prior knowledge of the aeronautics and space fields is not necessary, a keen interest and some basic familiarity with these topics are needed. Strong research, writing and editing skills are essential. Experience with social media is a plus.

Intern projects are flexible. Typical projects include handling a variety of information requests, writing posts for the NASA history twitter and Facebook pages, editing historical manuscripts, doing research and writing biographical sketches, and identifying and captioning photos.

The Solar System Exploration Pre-Service Teacher Institute is a free workshop for future middle school science teachers and the educators who mentor them. Presented by the NASA Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute, the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and the Lunar Planetary Institute, the workshop will take place in Houston, Texas.

Workshop participants will explore questions relating to the nature of science and how scientists conduct their work. Planetary scientists will be available to discuss their research and recent discoveries. Hands-on activities will be demonstrated, and participants will discover ways to connect solar system topics to Earth science, life science and physical science. A tour of the lunar rock laboratory at NASA’s Johnson Space Center is also planned.

The workshop will take place June 23-27, 2014. Registration is free, and lunches are included. Participants will receive a certificate for professional development hours.

Applications are now being accepted for 2015 NASA Aeronautics Scholarships. The program awards scholarships focused on aeronautical research and related degree programs at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate sponsors the program.

Undergraduate students with at least two years of study remaining will receive up to $15,000 per year for two years and the opportunity to receive a $10,000 stipend by interning at a NASA research center during the summer. Graduate students receive up to $46,000 per year for up to three years, with an opportunity to receive a $10,000 stipend interning at a NASA research center for up to two consecutive summers. Applicants must be citizens or nationals of the United States.

Due to the One Stop Shopping Initiative maintenance, the scholarship application deadline has been extended to June 2, 2014.

Applications should be submitted through the NASA One Stop Shopping Initiative at https://intern.nasa.gov/. Applicants should be sure to select “scholarships” for the type of application.

The NASA Office of Education is accepting applications for NASA Scholars. The NASA Scholarship is a competitive opportunity that focuses on students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, disciplines, to address the critical shortage of qualified STEM professionals that the nation is facing.

Eligible students include rising freshman (high school graduating seniors or GED recipients not yet enrolled in college), sophomores and juniors, at the undergraduate level, who will complete their undergraduate degree in spring 2016 or later and community college students with at least two years remaining at the community college.

The scholarship includes up to a $9,000 academic scholarship, not to exceed 75 percent of verified tuition, and a $6,000 stipend for a 10-week internship at a NASA center during summer 2015. The internship provides scholars with a unique NASA research experience and preparation for global competitiveness.

Due to the One Stop Shopping Initiative maintenance, the scholarship application deadline has been extended to June 2, 2014.

Applications should be submitted through the NASA One Stop Shopping Initiative at https://intern.nasa.gov. Applicants should be sure to select “scholarships” for the type of application.NASA Office of Education scholarships cannot be concurrently accepted or combined with another U.S. government scholarship or funding, irrespective of the scholar’s status.

NASA’s Office of Education is accepting applications for Minority University Research and Education Program Scholars. The MUREP Scholarship is a competitive opportunity that focuses on underserved and underrepresented students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, disciplines, to address the critical shortage of qualified STEM professionals that the nation is facing.

Eligible students include rising freshman (high school graduating seniors or GED recipients not yet enrolled in college), sophomores and juniors, at the undergraduate level, who will complete their undergraduate degree in spring 2016 or later and Minority Serving Institution community college students with at least two years remaining at the community college.

The goal is to address the agency’s mission-specific workforce needs and target areas of national need in minority STEM representation. The scholarship includes up to a $9,000 academic scholarship, not to exceed 75 percent of verified tuition, and a $6,000 stipend for a required 10-week internship at a NASA center during summer 2015. The internship provides scholars with a unique NASA research experience and preparation for global competitiveness.

Due to the One Stop Shopping Initiative maintenance, the scholarship application deadline has been extended to June 2, 2014.

Applications should be submitted through the NASA One Stop Shopping Initiative at https://intern.nasa.gov/. Applicants should be sure to select “scholarships” for the type of application.

MUREP scholarships cannot be concurrently accepted or combined with another U.S. government scholarship or funding, irrespective of the scholar’s status.

Join scientists from the Aura mission at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center’s visitor center in Greenbelt, Md., for the Beautiful Earth Program. Taking place June 5, 2014, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. EDT, this celebration of earth science for students and teachers includes the BELLA GAIA Live multimedia show, interactive sessions with NASA earth scientists and hands-on activities.

The National Space Biomedical Research Institute, or NSBRI, is accepting fellowship applications for the First Award Program. The two-year fellowships are available in any U.S. laboratory carrying out space-related biomedical or biotechnological research.

Applicants are required to submit proposals with the support of a mentor and an institution, and all proposals will be evaluated by a peer-review panel. Selected applicants receive a stipend, allowance for health insurance and travel funds for related scientific meetings. Also, an optional, competitive third year of fellowship support is available.

This year’s applicants can also request to be considered to spend part of the fellowship in Russia, via a program involving NSBRI and the Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow.

NSBRI, funded by NASA, is a consortia of institutions studying the health risks related to long-duration spaceflight and developing the medical technologies needed for long missions. The Institute’s science, technology and education projects take place at more than 60 institutions across the United States.

Call for Abstracts: 30th American Society for Gravitational and Space Research Conference

A call for abstracts has been released for the 30th annual American Society for Gravitational and Space Research, or ASGSR, conference and the 28th Symposium on Gravity-Related Phenomena in Space Exploration. The meeting will take place Oct. 23-26, 2014, at The Westin Pasadena in California.

Abstracts must be submitted electronically no later than June 15, 2014, using the abstract submittal form and instructions posted on the ASGSR website. All submitted abstracts will be peer reviewed by the conference organizing committee.

All accepted abstracts from students will be presented as posters or orally in competitions. The student poster competition will be judged by society members, and monetary awards will be given during the banquet scheduled for Oct. 25, 2014. Student competition winners will be encouraged to submit an extended abstract or a communication article to the ASGSR journal “Gravitational and Space Research.” All students are expected to coordinate with their advisors when submitting an abstract for the conference.

Student travel assistance of up to $500 is available on a limited basis. Students requesting consideration for travel assistance should check the box on the abstract submittal form.

How do scientists search for habitable environments beyond Earth? What makes an environment habitable? Are the criteria for life the same or different beyond Earth? The science of astrobiology is at the forefront addressing these types of challenging questions, including where can life exist?

Currently, NASA’s Curiosity Rover is exploring Gale Crater on Mars to investigate a site that has a very interesting history that could include habitability! Join the Mars Rover scientists as they lead a five-day interdisciplinary, immersive educator field experience to explore areas on Earth similar to environments on Mars. Help expand your students’ understanding of how biology, geology and chemistry are essential to this fascinating search for life elsewhere.

The symposium will take place June 16-20, 2014, at the Arizona State University campus in Tempe, Ariz. Participants will be responsible for transportation to and from Arizona State University, lodging and meals. Transportation between campus and the field trip sites will be provided. Some hiking will be required to participate in this field experience.

Participants will receive a certificate with a minimum of 45 professional development hours.

Space is limited to 30 participants. Registration will remain open until all positions are filled.

Time is running out to have your students’ names flown aboard Orion during its first flight! NASA’s Exploration Design Challenge, or EDC, invites students around the world to think and act like scientists to overcome one of the major hurdles of deep space long-duration exploration — the dangers associated with space radiation. Students taking part in the challenge will discover how to plan and design improved radiation shielding aboard the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, currently being developed by NASA, Lockheed Martin and other partners to carry astronauts to space, venturing farther than humans have ever gone. Through a series of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, engagement activities, students in grades K-12 will analyze different materials that simulate space radiation shielding and recommend materials that best block radiation and protect astronauts.

The names of all students participating in the NASA EDC will fly aboard the spacecraft as honorary virtual crew members for Orion’s first flight. The deadline to register students for the virtual crew is June 30, 2014.

The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN, or MAVEN, mission is set to arrive at Mars on Sept. 21, 2014. Celebrate the arrival with the MAVEN education team at this one-day workshop about the mission and the accompanying elementary program, Red Planet: Read, Write, Explore! The program features six standards-based lessons that combine science, literacy and art to help students understand planetary habitability and the MAVEN mission.

The workshop will include dinner and lectures by MAVEN scientists. Following the workshop, participants will watch the NASA TV broadcast of the MAVEN spacecraft’s arrival at Mars.

The workshop will take place on Sept. 21, 2014, in Boulder, Colorado. Registration is $20 and includes coffee, snacks and dinner. Applications are due Sept. 15, 2014, but space is limited so interested educators are encouraged to apply early.

Free Education Webinar Series from NASA Educator Professional Development

NASA Educator Professional Development is presenting a series of free webinars open to all educators. Join NASA education specialists to learn about activities, lesson plans, educator guides and resources to bring NASA into your classroom.

Seeing the World Without a Passport: Mission Geography
Audience: Pre-service and In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades K-12Event Date: May 15, 2014, at 5:30 p.m. EDT
Learn how to use NASA’s photographs and images of Earth to teach key grade-level-appropriate earth science, mathematics, science, language arts and geography skills.

Art and the Cosmic Connection
Audience: Pre-service and In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades K-12Event Date: May 19, 2014, at 6:30 p.m. EDT
Explore how science inspires art and art empowers science.

Curiosity on Mars: The Search for Clues of Life
Audience: Pre-service and In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades K-12Event Date: May 20, 2014, at 6:30 p.m. EDT
Learn about the recent history of Mars exploration and examine new discoveries.

Webshop Facilitator Training
Audience: Pre-service and In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades K-12Event Date: May 21, 2014, at 2 p.m. EDT
Learn how to be a webshop facilitator.

The Lunar and Planetary Institute and the ChemCam instrument team invite high school teachers, both in-service and pre-service, to attend the Mars Through Time workshop. This four-day workshop will take place July 8-11, 2014, at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, NM.

Attendees will discover the relationship between technology and science as it relates to our understanding of Mars. Attendees will also discuss the nature and process of science with invited speakers. Classroom resources will be provided.

Workshop registration is free. This workshop is limited to 20 participants. Interested educators are encouraged to apply early to secure a spot. Qualified applicants will be accepted in the order they apply. The application closes May 16, 2014.

NASA’s Global Precipitation Measurement, or GPM, mission is looking for a small cadre of “GPM Master Teachers” to help develop and pilot science, technology, engineering and mathematics lessons to be used with elementary, middle school and high school audiences.

Selected teachers will earn a stipend for their participation, which will run from July 1, 2014, through June 1, 2015. All of the training and participation will be conducted online. It is anticipated that teachers will spend approximately 10 hours per month working on this collaborative project.

GPM is an international mission launched in early 2014 that is studying precipitation across the globe. GPM’s key educational themes include the water cycle, weather and climate, GPM’s instrumentation and technology, and societal applications (drought, flooding, freshwater availability, etc.). To learn more about this mission, visit http://pmm.nasa.gov.

GPM Master Teachers will be expected to do the following:
— Participate in monthly webinars.
— Develop at least one hands-on activity and accompanying lesson plan that can be used to teach students about GPM-related content.
— Pilot lesson plans and GPM educational resources.
— Disseminate information about NASA and GPM’s educational resources with their peers.

This competitive opportunity is open to elementary, middle school and high school teachers. GPM is seeking “Master” teachers (those who have successfully taught for at least five years, and who have demonstrated the ability to collaborate in Professional Learning Communities within their school district and/or at the state/national level).

The Virginia Space Grant Consortium is seeking applications for the 2014-2016 Integrative STEM for Preservice Teachers program, or InSTEP. This two-year program serves to increase future educators’ understanding of STEM and how to teach integrative STEM in the classroom.

Applicants must have demonstrated interest in teaching in grades 4-8, as well as science, technology, engineering and/or mathematics. The program includes $2,500 scholarship each year, For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, or FIRST, Lego robotics training, conference travel and registration, travel support to two NASA centers for innovative STEM training and more.

To be eligible, applicants must be rising juniors (third year of a preservice teacher program) in Summer 2014 at a partnering Virginia college/university. Preference will be given to students currently enrolled in programs at College of William and Mary, Hampton University, Old Dominion University, Virginia Tech, The University of Virginia, Norfolk State University and Virginia State University.

The deadline for submitting applications has been extended to May 19, 2014.

As part of a series of electronic professional development experiences, the NASA Explorer Schools project and the National Science Teachers Association are hosting a free 90-minute Web seminar on May 22, 2014 at 6:30 p.m. EDT. Learn about the relationships between air pressure, temperature, volume and cloud formation. Information will be provided about an extension activity, the Students’ Cloud Observations Online, or S’COOL, Project, which involves student participation in authentic science.

The featured activity provides opportunities for incorporating national science, technology and mathematics learning standards into the curricula and addresses middle school Next Generation Science Standards.

This is the last time this seminar will be offered during the current school year.

NASA’s Langley Research Center’s Office of Education and the National Institute of Aerospace’s Center for Integrative STEM Education are sponsoring a two-week Pre-Service Teacher Institute taking place July 21 – Aug. 1, 2014, in Hampton, Virginia.

Participants will engage in hands-on learning experiences designed to develop their skills for teaching science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, using NASA-developed curricular resources. Participants will have opportunities to interact with NASA scientists and engineers, making real-world connections to standards-based classroom content.

Undergraduate and graduate students in an education track preparing to teach in K-8 classrooms are invited to apply. Students who participate will receive a stipend for attending.

Exploration of the Moon and Asteroids by Secondary Students High School Research Program

The Center for Lunar Science and Exploration at the Lunar and Planetary Institute and NASA’s Johnson Space Center are looking for 10 teams of motivated high school students to participate in a national standards-based lunar/asteroid research program for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Supported by their teacher and a scientist mentor, students undertake open-inquiry research projects that engage them in the process of science and support the science goals of the NASA Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute. At the end of the year, four teams compete for a chance to present their research at the Exploration Science Forum held at NASA’s Ames Research Center in July 2015.

Participation in the Exploration of the Moon and Asteroids by Secondary Students, or ExMASS, program is free. Interested teachers must submit an application. Applications must be completed by a teacher and are due May 23, 2014.

NASA invites eligible U.S. educational institutions, museums and other organizations to screen and request historical artifacts of significance to spaceflight. This is the 22nd screening of artifacts since 2009.

Eligible schools, universities, museums, libraries and planetariums may view the artifacts and request specific items through May 26, 2014. Online registrations should include an assigned Department of Education number. Registration also can be made through the requester’s State Agency for Surplus Property office. For instructions, registration and to view and make requests for artifacts online, visit http://gsaxcess.gov/NASAWel.htm.

The artifacts are free of charge and are offered “as-is.” Organizations must cover shipping costs and any handling fees. Shipping fees on smaller items will be relatively inexpensive, while larger items may involve extensive disassembly, preparation, shipping and reassembly costs. NASA will work closely with eligible organizations to address any unique handling costs.

NASA is seeking proposals for the development of new, more capable energy storage technologies to replace the battery technology that has long powered America’s space program.

The core technologies solicited in the call for proposals will advance energy storage solutions for the space program and other government agencies. NASA’s solicitation has two category areas: “High Specific Energy System Level Concepts,” which will focus on cell chemistry and system-level battery technologies, such as packaging and cell integration; and “Very High Specific Energy Devices,” which will focus on energy storage technologies that can go beyond the current theoretical limits of Lithium batteries while maintaining the cycle life and safety characteristics demanded of energy storage systems used in space applications.

Proposals will be accepted from NASA centers and other government agencies, federally funded research and development centers, educational institutions, industry and nonprofit organizations. NASA expects to make approximately four awards for Phase I of the solicitation, ranging in value up to $250,000 each.

Through solicitations and grants, NASA’s investments in space technology provide the transformative capabilities to enable new missions, stimulate the economy, contribute to the nation’s global competitiveness and inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers and explorers.

Rockets to Racecars Educator Professional Development Opportunity at Kentucky Speedway

Get your students revved up about science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, with the NASA Rockets to Racecars STEM Education program’s special NICE Go Green Edition/The Heat is ON! Educators of grades 4-12 are encouraged to sign up today to attend one of the scheduled 75-minute virtual sessions outlined below. Attendees will be invited to show off their newly acquired skills alongside NASA educators during race days at Kentucky Speedway June 26-28, 2014.

Teacher Program at Kentucky Speedway
Event Date: May 27, 2014, at 6:30 p.m. EDT and June 4, 2014, at 6:30 p.m. EDT
Learn about an activity that challenges students to design an efficient solar oven and discover how solar energy is currently used to power a NASCAR track.

Drag Race to Mars
Event Date: June 3, 2014, at 5:30 p.m. EDT
Learn about an activity that bridges science and mathematics by challenging students to design a capsule to land on Mars.

Measure Up and Calculate
Event Date: June 9, 2014, at 6:30 p.m. EDT
Learn about an activity that teaches students about tire technology and the effects of air pressure by comparing and contrasting a section of tire from the space shuttle, a light truck and a bicycle.

May the Force Uplift You…Or NotEvent Date: June 11, 2014, at 6:30 p.m. EDT
Explore Bernoulli’s Principle by applying mathematics to interpret air pressure and airflow data on objects such as an airplane’s wing or a race car’s spoiler.

NASA’s Office of Education is accepting proposals from Designated, Program Grant and Capability Enhancement consortia for a 2014 Space Grant opportunity for community college and technical school students and faculty. Each funded proposal is expected to engage community college and technical school faculty and undergraduate students enrolled in STEM degree programs, or the equivalent of the available general/liberal arts degree program with a STEM focus.

This opportunity is open to Space Grant consortia in each state plus the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Proposals must be submitted to NASA from the lead Space Grant institution in each consortium, with the consortium director serving as the lead principal investigator for any proposed effort. Only one proposal per consortium is permitted for submission.

Interested parties are requested to submit a notice of intent by April 14, 2014. Proposals are due May 28, 2014.

Graduate Research Awards for Applied Research in Public Sector Airport-Related Aviation Issues

The Virginia Space Grant Consortium is managing the Graduate Research Award program for the Airport Cooperative Research Program of the National Academies Transportation Research Board. The program supports applied research in public sector airport-related issues.

Under the program, up to 10 awards of $10,000 each will be made to full-time graduate students for successful completion of a research paper on public sector airport-related aviation issues during the upcoming academic year. The research must be overseen by a faculty advisor.

The program provides funding, subject matter expert support, national recognition and publication potential through the Transportation Research Record of the Transportation Research Board. Students also have an expense-paid opportunity to present on their work at the Transportation Research Board’s annual meeting in January 2016 in Washington, D.C.

Student Spaceflight Experiments Program — Mission 7 to the International Space Station

The National Center for Earth and Space Science Education and the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Space Education, in partnership with NanoRacks LLC, announce an authentic science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, opportunity for school districts across the U.S. and space station partner nations. The newest flight opportunity, Mission 7 to the International Space Station, or ISS, gives students across a community the ability to design and propose real experiments to fly in low Earth orbit on the International Space Station. This opportunity is part of the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program, or SSEP.

Each participating community will receive a real microgravity research mini-laboratory capable of supporting a single microgravity experiment, and all launch services to fly the mini-lab to the space station in spring 2015 and return it to Earth. An experiment design competition in each community — engaging typically 300+ students — allows student teams to design and propose real experiments vying for their community’s reserved mini-lab. Content resources for teachers and students support foundational instruction on science in microgravity and experimental design. Additional SSEP programming leverages the experiment design competition to engage the community, embracing a learning community model for science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, education.

This competition is open to students in grades 5-12 and college. Informal education groups and organizations are also encouraged to participate. Interested communities must inquire about the program no later than May 30, 2014. The National Center for Earth and Space Science Education is available to help interested communities in the U.S. secure the needed funding.

SSEP is enabled through a strategic partnership with NanoRacks LLC working with NASA under a Space Act Agreement as part of the utilization of the International Space Station as a national laboratory. The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (http://www.iss-casis.org/) is a national partner on SSEP. To view a list of all SSEP national partners, visit http://ssep.ncesse.org/national-partners/.

If you have any questions about this opportunity, please email SSEP National Program Director Jeff Goldstein at jeffgoldstein@ncesse.org.

The Virginia Space Grant Consortium, or VSGC, is offering renewable scholarships to sophomore undergraduate students studying science, technology, engineering or mathematics, or STEM. The STEM Bridge Scholarships are $1,000 and are available to students who are U.S. citizens from any federally recognized minority group enrolled fulltime at one of the five VSGC member universities: The College of William and Mary, Hampton University, Old Dominion University, University of Virginia and Virginia Tech.

The STEM Bridge Program bridges students to future opportunities by mentoring and guiding them to future VSGC scholarships and NASA-related paid internships. The program encourages students to explore how their majors can apply to NASA’s Mission.

This is a competitive program, and awards are based on student academic merit, quality of interest essay as well as letters of recommendation from current college faculty who can attest to students’ interest in STEM areas.

The deadline for submitting applications has been extended to May 30, 2014.

NASA’s Center for Astronomy Education, or CAE, announces a series of educator workshops for astronomy and space science educators.

These workshops provide participants with experiences needed to create effective and productive active-learning classroom environments. Workshop leaders model best practices in implementing many different classroom-tested instructional strategies. But more importantly, workshop participants will gain first-hand experience implementing these proven strategies. During many microteaching events, you will have the opportunity to role-play the parts of student and instructor. You will assess and critique each other’s implementation in real time as part of a supportive learning community. You will have the opportunity to use unfamiliar teaching techniques in collaboration with mentors before using them with your students. CAE is funded through NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Exoplanet Exploration Program.

The NASA History Program Office is seeking undergraduate and graduate students for fall 2014 internships. The History Program Office maintains archival materials to answer research questions from NASA personnel, journalists, scholars, students at all levels and others from around the world. The division also edits and publishes several books and monographs each year. It maintains a large number of websites on NASA history.

Students of all majors are welcome to apply. While detailed prior knowledge of the aeronautics and space fields is not necessary, a keen interest and some basic familiarity with these topics are needed. Strong research, writing and editing skills are essential. Experience with social media is a plus.

Intern projects are flexible. Typical projects include handling a variety of information requests, writing posts for the NASA history twitter and Facebook pages, editing historical manuscripts, doing research and writing biographical sketches, and identifying and captioning photos.

The Solar System Exploration Pre-Service Teacher Institute is a free workshop for future middle school science teachers and the educators who mentor them. Presented by the NASA Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute, the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and the Lunar Planetary Institute, the workshop will take place in Houston, Texas.

Workshop participants will explore questions relating to the nature of science and how scientists conduct their work. Planetary scientists will be available to discuss their research and recent discoveries. Hands-on activities will be demonstrated, and participants will discover ways to connect solar system topics to Earth science, life science and physical science. A tour of the lunar rock laboratory at NASA’s Johnson Space Center is also planned.

The workshop will take place June 23-27, 2014. Registration is free, and lunches are included. Participants will receive a certificate for professional development hours.

Applications are now being accepted for 2015 NASA Aeronautics Scholarships. The program awards scholarships focused on aeronautical research and related degree programs at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate sponsors the program.

Undergraduate students with at least two years of study remaining will receive up to $15,000 per year for two years and the opportunity to receive a $10,000 stipend by interning at a NASA research center during the summer. Graduate students receive up to $46,000 per year for up to three years, with an opportunity to receive a $10,000 stipend interning at a NASA research center for up to two consecutive summers. Applicants must be citizens or nationals of the United States.

Due to the One Stop Shopping Initiative maintenance, the scholarship application deadline has been extended to June 2, 2014.

Applications should be submitted through the NASA One Stop Shopping Initiative at https://intern.nasa.gov/. Applicants should be sure to select “scholarships” for the type of application.

The NASA Office of Education is accepting applications for NASA Scholars. The NASA Scholarship is a competitive opportunity that focuses on students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, disciplines, to address the critical shortage of qualified STEM professionals that the nation is facing.

Eligible students include rising freshman (high school graduating seniors or GED recipients not yet enrolled in college), sophomores and juniors, at the undergraduate level, who will complete their undergraduate degree in spring 2016 or later and community college students with at least two years remaining at the community college.

The scholarship includes up to a $9,000 academic scholarship, not to exceed 75 percent of verified tuition, and a $6,000 stipend for a 10-week internship at a NASA center during summer 2015. The internship provides scholars with a unique NASA research experience and preparation for global competitiveness.

Due to the One Stop Shopping Initiative maintenance, the scholarship application deadline has been extended to June 2, 2014.

Applications should be submitted through the NASA One Stop Shopping Initiative at https://intern.nasa.gov. Applicants should be sure to select “scholarships” for the type of application.NASA Office of Education scholarships cannot be concurrently accepted or combined with another U.S. government scholarship or funding, irrespective of the scholar’s status.

NASA’s Office of Education is accepting applications for Minority University Research and Education Program Scholars. The MUREP Scholarship is a competitive opportunity that focuses on underserved and underrepresented students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, disciplines, to address the critical shortage of qualified STEM professionals that the nation is facing.

Eligible students include rising freshman (high school graduating seniors or GED recipients not yet enrolled in college), sophomores and juniors, at the undergraduate level, who will complete their undergraduate degree in spring 2016 or later and Minority Serving Institution community college students with at least two years remaining at the community college.

The goal is to address the agency’s mission-specific workforce needs and target areas of national need in minority STEM representation. The scholarship includes up to a $9,000 academic scholarship, not to exceed 75 percent of verified tuition, and a $6,000 stipend for a required 10-week internship at a NASA center during summer 2015. The internship provides scholars with a unique NASA research experience and preparation for global competitiveness.

Due to the One Stop Shopping Initiative maintenance, the scholarship application deadline has been extended to June 2, 2014.

Applications should be submitted through the NASA One Stop Shopping Initiative at https://intern.nasa.gov/. Applicants should be sure to select “scholarships” for the type of application.

MUREP scholarships cannot be concurrently accepted or combined with another U.S. government scholarship or funding, irrespective of the scholar’s status.

The National Space Biomedical Research Institute, or NSBRI, is accepting fellowship applications for the First Award Program. The two-year fellowships are available in any U.S. laboratory carrying out space-related biomedical or biotechnological research.

Applicants are required to submit proposals with the support of a mentor and an institution, and all proposals will be evaluated by a peer-review panel. Selected applicants receive a stipend, allowance for health insurance and travel funds for related scientific meetings. Also, an optional, competitive third year of fellowship support is available.

This year’s applicants can also request to be considered to spend part of the fellowship in Russia, via a program involving NSBRI and the Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow.

NSBRI, funded by NASA, is a consortia of institutions studying the health risks related to long-duration spaceflight and developing the medical technologies needed for long missions. The Institute’s science, technology and education projects take place at more than 60 institutions across the United States.

How do scientists search for habitable environments beyond Earth? What makes an environment habitable? Are the criteria for life the same or different beyond Earth? The science of astrobiology is at the forefront addressing these types of challenging questions, including where can life exist?

Currently, NASA’s Curiosity Rover is exploring Gale Crater on Mars to investigate a site that has a very interesting history that could include habitability! Join the Mars Rover scientists as they lead a five-day interdisciplinary, immersive educator field experience to explore areas on Earth similar to environments on Mars. Help expand your students’ understanding of how biology, geology and chemistry are essential to this fascinating search for life elsewhere.

The symposium will take place June 16-20, 2014, at the Arizona State University campus in Tempe, Ariz. Participants will be responsible for transportation to and from Arizona State University, lodging and meals. Transportation between campus and the field trip sites will be provided. Some hiking will be required to participate in this field experience.

Participants will receive a certificate with a minimum of 45 professional development hours.

Space is limited to 30 participants. Registration will remain open until all positions are filled.

Students from Kindergarten through 12th grade have the opportunity to play a unique role in the future of human spaceflight through participation in NASA’s Exploration Design Challenge, or EDC. NASA EDC invites students around the world to think and act like scientists in order to overcome one of the major hurdles of deep space long-duration exploration — the dangers associated with space radiation. Students taking part in the challenge will discover how to plan and design improved radiation shielding aboard the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, currently being developed by NASA, Lockheed Martin and other partners to carry astronauts to space, venturing farther than humans have ever gone before.

Through a series of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, engagement activities, students in grades K-8 will analyze different materials that simulate space radiation shielding and recommend materials that best block radiation and protect astronauts. Students in grades 9-12 will think and act like engineers as they apply what they learn to design shielding to protect a sensor on the Orion crew module from space radiation.

The names of all students, grades K-12, participating in the NASA EDC will fly aboard the spacecraft as honorary virtual crewmembers for Orion’s first flight. The deadline to register students for the virtual crew is June 30, 2014.

Free Education Webinar Series from NASA Educator Professional Development

NASA Educator Professional Development is presenting a series of free webinars open to all educators. Join NASA education specialists to learn about activities, lesson plans, educator guides and resources to bring NASA into your classroom.

The Adventures of ECHO the Bat: A Project-based Lesson
Audience: Pre-service and In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 5-8Event Date: May 8, 2014, at 6:30 p.m. EDT
During this 60-minute webinar, participants will learn how remote sensing and false-color satellite images are used to allow their students to follow Echo, a bat, on his adventure to his winter hibernation location.

Robotics on a Budget: Engineering Design With Moving Parts
Audience: Pre-service and In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 5-8Event Date: May 12, 2014, at 5:30 p.m. EDT
Learn how to use inexpensive robotics in the classroom to enhance students’ understanding of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Things That Go Boom in the Air
Audience: Pre-service and In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 3-8Event Date: May 13, 2014, at 6:30 p.m. EDT
Learn how to “see” sound by building a simple waveform monitor, construct very easy “Bernoulli tents” and learn a Bernoulli activity that will puzzle students and allow them to understand how wings lift aircraft.

Amusement Park Physics With a NASA Twist
Audience: Pre-service and In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 5-12Event Date: May 14, 2014, at 5:30 p.m. EDT
Learn how to implement hands-on classroom activities found in NASA’s Amusement Park Physics Educator Guide. Connections to the Next Generation Science Standards will be included.

Seeing the World Without a Passport: Mission Geography
Audience: Pre-service and In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades K-12Event Date: May 15, 2014, at 5:30 p.m. EDT
Learn how to use NASA’s photographs and images of Earth to teach key grade-level-appropriate earth science, mathematics, science, language arts and geography skills.

NASA invites college teams to take part in the 2014 NASA Aeronautics Mission Directorate’s Unmanned Aerial Systems Challenge. Students are invited to propose a high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial system to track hurricanes. Design assessment will be based on projected effectiveness, cost, innovation and ease of use and operation inside the National Air Space.

The contest is open to teams of full-time students enrolled in higher education institutions of the United States or its territories. This category includes universities, colleges, trade schools, community colleges, professional schools, etc. Multidisciplinary teams are encouraged.

Live Video Chat for Students — Dawn Stanley: The Space Launch System — NASA’s Heavy Lifter

NASA Explorer Schools is hosting a 45-minute live video chat for students in grades 6-12 on May 13, 2014, at 12:30 p.m. EDT. During the video chat, systems engineer Dawn Stanley, member of the Space Launch Systems team, will answer students’ questions about NASA’s next heavy-lift vehicle. Stanley provides day-to-day support and mission assurance giving her a unique insight into the development of the new vehicle. Stanley will also discuss her journey to becoming a systems engineer with NASA.

NES Web Seminar — Chemistry of Water: Mars Exploration — Is There Water on Mars?

As part of a series of electronic professional development experiences for educators, the NASA Explorer Schools project and the National Science Teachers Association are hosting a 90-minute Web seminar on May 13, 2014 at 6:30 p.m. EDT.

Participants will receive an overview of a NASA inquiry-based lesson, “Is There Water on Mars?”. Participating educators will have the opportunity to refresh their knowledge of concepts such as how atmospheric pressure and vapor pressure affect the boiling point of water, and how scientists use that information to deduce if there could be, or ever has been, liquid water on Mars. The featured activity provides many opportunities for incorporating national science, technology, and mathematics learning standards into curricula as well as addressing high school Next Generation Science Standards.

This is the last time this seminar will be offered during the current school year.

The NASA Office of Education is accepting applications for NASA Scholars. The NASA Scholarship is a competitive opportunity that focuses on students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, disciplines, to address the critical shortage of qualified STEM professionals that the nation is facing.

Eligible students include rising freshman (high school graduating seniors or GED recipients not yet enrolled in college), sophomores and juniors, at the undergraduate level, who will complete their undergraduate degree in spring 2016 or later and community college students with at least two years remaining at the community college.

The scholarship includes up to a $9,000 academic scholarship, not to exceed 75 percent of verified tuition, and a $6,000 stipend for a 10-week internship at a NASA center during summer 2015. The internship provides scholars with a unique NASA research experience and preparation for global competitiveness.

Applications are due May 16, 2014.

Applications should be submitted through the NASA One Stop Shopping Initiative at https://intern.nasa.gov. Applicants should be sure to select “scholarships” for the type of application.NASA Office of Education scholarships cannot be concurrently accepted or combined with another U.S. government scholarship or funding, irrespective of the scholar’s status.

NASA’s Office of Education is accepting applications for Minority University Research and Education Program Scholars. The MUREP Scholarship is a competitive opportunity that focuses on underserved and underrepresented students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, disciplines, to address the critical shortage of qualified STEM professionals that the nation is facing.

Eligible students include rising freshman (high school graduating seniors or GED recipients not yet enrolled in college), sophomores and juniors, at the undergraduate level, who will complete their undergraduate degree in spring 2016 or later and Minority Serving Institution community college students with at least two years remaining at the community college.

The goal is to address the agency’s mission-specific workforce needs and target areas of national need in minority STEM representation. The scholarship includes up to a $9,000 academic scholarship, not to exceed 75 percent of verified tuition, and a $6,000 stipend for a required 10-week internship at a NASA center during summer 2015. The internship provides scholars with a unique NASA research experience and preparation for global competitiveness.

Applications are due May 16, 2014.

Applications should be submitted through the NASA One Stop Shopping Initiative at https://intern.nasa.gov/. Applicants should be sure to select “scholarships” for the type of application.

MUREP scholarships cannot be concurrently accepted or combined with another U.S. government scholarship or funding, irrespective of the scholar’s status.

The Lunar and Planetary Institute and the ChemCam instrument team invite high school teachers, both in-service and pre-service, to attend the Mars Through Time workshop. This four-day workshop will take place July 8-11, 2014, at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, NM.

Attendees will discover the relationship between technology and science as it relates to our understanding of Mars. Attendees will also discuss the nature and process of science with invited speakers. Classroom resources will be provided.

Workshop registration is free. This workshop is limited to 20 participants. Interested educators are encouraged to apply early to secure a spot. Qualified applicants will be accepted in the order they apply. The application closes May 16, 2014.

The Virginia Space Grant Consortium is seeking applications for the 2014-2016 Integrative STEM for Preservice Teachers program, or InSTEP. This two-year program serves to increase future educators’ understanding of STEM and how to teach integrative STEM in the classroom.

Applicants must have demonstrated interest in teaching in grades 4-8, as well as science, technology, engineering and/or mathematics. The program includes $2,500 scholarship each year, For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, or FIRST, Lego robotics training, conference travel and registration, travel support to two NASA centers for innovative STEM training and more.

To be eligible, applicants must be rising juniors (third year of a preservice teacher program) in Summer 2014 at a partnering Virginia college/university. Preference will be given to students currently enrolled in programs at College of William and Mary, Hampton University, Old Dominion University, Virginia Tech, The University of Virginia, Norfolk State University and Virginia State University.

The deadline for submitting applications has been extended to May 19, 2014.

NASA’s Langley Research Center’s Office of Education and the National Institute of Aerospace’s Center for Integrative STEM Education are sponsoring a two-week Pre-Service Teacher Institute taking place July 21 – Aug. 1, 2014, in Hampton, Virginia.

Participants will engage in hands-on learning experiences designed to develop their skills for teaching science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, using NASA-developed curricular resources. Participants will have opportunities to interact with NASA scientists and engineers, making real-world connections to standards-based classroom content.

Undergraduate and graduate students in an education track preparing to teach in K-8 classrooms are invited to apply. Students who participate will receive a stipend for attending.

Exploration of the Moon and Asteroids by Secondary Students High School Research Program

The Center for Lunar Science and Exploration at the Lunar and Planetary Institute and NASA’s Johnson Space Center are looking for 10 teams of motivated high school students to participate in a national standards-based lunar/asteroid research program for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Supported by their teacher and a scientist mentor, students undertake open-inquiry research projects that engage them in the process of science and support the science goals of the NASA Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute. At the end of the year, four teams compete for a chance to present their research at the Exploration Science Forum held at NASA’s Ames Research Center in July 2015.

Participation in the Exploration of the Moon and Asteroids by Secondary Students, or ExMASS, program is free. Interested teachers must submit an application. Applications must be completed by a teacher and are due May 23, 2014.

NASA invites eligible U.S. educational institutions, museums and other organizations to screen and request historical artifacts of significance to spaceflight. This is the 22nd screening of artifacts since 2009.

Eligible schools, universities, museums, libraries and planetariums may view the artifacts and request specific items through May 26, 2014. Online registrations should include an assigned Department of Education number. Registration also can be made through the requester’s State Agency for Surplus Property office. For instructions, registration and to view and make requests for artifacts online, visit http://gsaxcess.gov/NASAWel.htm.

The artifacts are free of charge and are offered “as-is.” Organizations must cover shipping costs and any handling fees. Shipping fees on smaller items will be relatively inexpensive, while larger items may involve extensive disassembly, preparation, shipping and reassembly costs. NASA will work closely with eligible organizations to address any unique handling costs.

NASA is seeking proposals for the development of new, more capable energy storage technologies to replace the battery technology that has long powered America’s space program.

The core technologies solicited in the call for proposals will advance energy storage solutions for the space program and other government agencies. NASA’s solicitation has two category areas: “High Specific Energy System Level Concepts,” which will focus on cell chemistry and system-level battery technologies, such as packaging and cell integration; and “Very High Specific Energy Devices,” which will focus on energy storage technologies that can go beyond the current theoretical limits of Lithium batteries while maintaining the cycle life and safety characteristics demanded of energy storage systems used in space applications.

Proposals will be accepted from NASA centers and other government agencies, federally funded research and development centers, educational institutions, industry and nonprofit organizations. NASA expects to make approximately four awards for Phase I of the solicitation, ranging in value up to $250,000 each.

Through solicitations and grants, NASA’s investments in space technology provide the transformative capabilities to enable new missions, stimulate the economy, contribute to the nation’s global competitiveness and inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers and explorers.

DLN Rockets to Racecars Educator Professional Development Opportunity at Kentucky Speedway

Get your students revved up about science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, with the NASA Rockets to Racecars STEM Education program’s special NICE Go Green Edition/The Heat is ON! Sign up today to attend a 75-minute virtual session on solar energy and Earth’s energy budget being offered May 27 or June 4, 2014. Attendees will be invited to show off their newly acquired skills alongside NASA educators during race days at Kentucky Speedway June 26-28, 2014.

Additional hours of professional development may be earned through a variety of activities, including extra virtual sessions on related Rockets to Racecars STEM Educator Professional Development lessons that you can showcase at the track. Bridge science and math by designing a capsule to land on Mars, just as NASA engineers have with the “Drag Race to Mars” webinar on June 3, 2014. Investigate creative ways of using tires and air pressure to add math into the classroom and investigate center of gravity with the “Measure Up and Calculate” webinar on June 9, 2014. Explore the physical science of Bernoulli’s Principle on objects such as an airplane wing or a racecar spoiler with the “May the Force Uplift You…or Not!” webinar on June 11, 2014.

NASA’s Office of Education is accepting proposals from Designated, Program Grant and Capability Enhancement consortia for a 2014 Space Grant opportunity for community college and technical school students and faculty. Each funded proposal is expected to engage community college and technical school faculty and undergraduate students enrolled in STEM degree programs, or the equivalent of the available general/liberal arts degree program with a STEM focus.

This opportunity is open to Space Grant consortia in each state plus the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Proposals must be submitted to NASA from the lead Space Grant institution in each consortium, with the consortium director serving as the lead principal investigator for any proposed effort. Only one proposal per consortium is permitted for submission.

Interested parties are requested to submit a notice of intent by April 14, 2014. Proposals are due May 28, 2014.

Graduate Research Awards for Applied Research in Public Sector Airport-Related Aviation Issues

The Virginia Space Grant Consortium is managing the Graduate Research Award program for the Airport Cooperative Research Program of the National Academies Transportation Research Board. The program supports applied research in public sector airport-related issues.

Under the program, up to 10 awards of $10,000 each will be made to full-time graduate students for successful completion of a research paper on public sector airport-related aviation issues during the upcoming academic year. The research must be overseen by a faculty advisor.

The program provides funding, subject matter expert support, national recognition and publication potential through the Transportation Research Record of the Transportation Research Board. Students also have an expense-paid opportunity to present on their work at the Transportation Research Board’s annual meeting in January 2016 in Washington, D.C.

Student Spaceflight Experiments Program — Mission 7 to the International Space Station

The National Center for Earth and Space Science Education and the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Space Education, in partnership with NanoRacks LLC, announce an authentic science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, opportunity for school districts across the U.S. and space station partner nations. The newest flight opportunity, Mission 7 to the International Space Station, or ISS, gives students across a community the ability to design and propose real experiments to fly in low Earth orbit on the International Space Station. This opportunity is part of the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program, or SSEP.

Each participating community will receive a real microgravity research mini-laboratory capable of supporting a single microgravity experiment, and all launch services to fly the mini-lab to the space station in spring 2015 and return it to Earth. An experiment design competition in each community — engaging typically 300+ students — allows student teams to design and propose real experiments vying for their community’s reserved mini-lab. Content resources for teachers and students support foundational instruction on science in microgravity and experimental design. Additional SSEP programming leverages the experiment design competition to engage the community, embracing a learning community model for science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, education.

This competition is open to students in grades 5-12 and college. Informal education groups and organizations are also encouraged to participate. Interested communities must inquire about the program no later than May 30, 2014. The National Center for Earth and Space Science Education is available to help interested communities in the U.S. secure the needed funding.

SSEP is enabled through a strategic partnership with NanoRacks LLC working with NASA under a Space Act Agreement as part of the utilization of the International Space Station as a national laboratory. The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (http://www.iss-casis.org/) is a national partner on SSEP. To view a list of all SSEP national partners, visit http://ssep.ncesse.org/national-partners/.

If you have any questions about this opportunity, please email SSEP National Program Director Jeff Goldstein at jeffgoldstein@ncesse.org.

The Virginia Space Grant Consortium, or VSGC, is offering renewable scholarships to sophomore undergraduate students studying science, technology, engineering or mathematics, or STEM. The STEM Bridge Scholarships are $1,000 and are available to students who are U.S. citizens from any federally recognized minority group enrolled fulltime at one of the five VSGC member universities: The College of William and Mary, Hampton University, Old Dominion University, University of Virginia and Virginia Tech.

The STEM Bridge Program bridges students to future opportunities by mentoring and guiding them to future VSGC scholarships and NASA-related paid internships. The program encourages students to explore how their majors can apply to NASA’s Mission.

This is a competitive program, and awards are based on student academic merit, quality of interest essay as well as letters of recommendation from current college faculty who can attest to students’ interest in STEM areas.

The deadline for submitting applications has been extended to May 30, 2014.

NASA’s Center for Astronomy Education, or CAE, announces a series of educator workshops for astronomy and space science educators.

These workshops provide participants with experiences needed to create effective and productive active-learning classroom environments. Workshop leaders model best practices in implementing many different classroom-tested instructional strategies. But more importantly, workshop participants will gain first-hand experience implementing these proven strategies. During many microteaching events, you will have the opportunity to role-play the parts of student and instructor. You will assess and critique each other’s implementation in real time as part of a supportive learning community. You will have the opportunity to use unfamiliar teaching techniques in collaboration with mentors before using them with your students. CAE is funded through NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Exoplanet Exploration Program.

The NASA History Program Office is seeking undergraduate and graduate students for fall 2014 internships. The History Program Office maintains archival materials to answer research questions from NASA personnel, journalists, scholars, students at all levels and others from around the world. The division also edits and publishes several books and monographs each year. It maintains a large number of websites on NASA history.

Students of all majors are welcome to apply. While detailed prior knowledge of the aeronautics and space fields is not necessary, a keen interest and some basic familiarity with these topics are needed. Strong research, writing and editing skills are essential. Experience with social media is a plus.

Intern projects are flexible. Typical projects include handling a variety of information requests, writing posts for the NASA history twitter and Facebook pages, editing historical manuscripts, doing research and writing biographical sketches, and identifying and captioning photos.

The Solar System Exploration Pre-Service Teacher Institute is a free workshop for future middle school science teachers and the educators who mentor them. Presented by the NASA Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute, the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and the Lunar Planetary Institute, the workshop will take place in Houston, Texas.

Workshop participants will explore questions relating to the nature of science and how scientists conduct their work. Planetary scientists will be available to discuss their research and recent discoveries. Hands-on activities will be demonstrated, and participants will discover ways to connect solar system topics to Earth science, life science and physical science. A tour of the lunar rock laboratory at NASA’s Johnson Space Center is also planned.

The workshop will take place June 23-27, 2014. Registration is free, and lunches are included. Participants will receive a certificate for professional development hours.

How do scientists search for habitable environments beyond Earth? What makes an environment habitable? Are the criteria for life the same or different beyond Earth? The science of astrobiology is at the forefront addressing these types of challenging questions, including where can life exist?

Currently, NASA’s Curiosity Rover is exploring Gale Crater on Mars to investigate a site that has a very interesting history that could include habitability! Join the Mars Rover scientists as they lead a five-day interdisciplinary, immersive educator field experience to explore areas on Earth similar to environments on Mars. Help expand your students’ understanding of how biology, geology and chemistry are essential to this fascinating search for life elsewhere.

The symposium will take place June 16-20, 2014, at the Arizona State University campus in Tempe, Ariz. Participants will be responsible for transportation to and from Arizona State University, lodging and meals. Transportation between campus and the field trip sites will be provided. Some hiking will be required to participate in this field experience.

Participants will receive a certificate with a minimum of 45 professional development hours.

Space is limited to 30 participants. Registration will remain open until all positions are filled.

The Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite-2, or ICESat-2, mission will host the 2015 ICESat-2 Mission Hexacopter Engineering Challenge at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland., on April 17, 2015. This challenge will task teams of students with measuring the height of Earth around us, from tree canopies to bodies of water. This challenge will be the first of its kind in a yearly series of ICESat-2 engineering challenge events.

Student teams will be selected to participate in this challenge through a proposal and selection process. Participating teams will design and build hexacopter multirotors that can create a digital elevation model of a specific area within a predetermined amount of time. Students will also submit technical and educational reports describing in detail their efforts throughout the competition process.

This challenge is open to undergraduate college students from accredited U.S. colleges and universities. Teams may consist of one to five students and a university mentor/instructor. Due to the nature of the challenge, multidisciplinary teams are encouraged.

The Chandra X-ray Observatory is NASA’s flagship mission for X-ray astronomy. Launched in 1999, the Chandra telescope is specially designed to detect X-ray emissions from very hot regions of the universe, such as exploded stars, clusters of galaxies and matter around black holes.

The Chandra mission has a wealth of education materials to help you bring the excitement of X-ray astronomy into your classroom. Classroom-ready activities, interactive games, podcasts, printable materials and more are available on the Chandra education website. Examples include:

— STOP for Science: This program for K-6 educators can be used in a classroom or as an afterschool activity. Basic science concepts such as speed, light and rotation are presented on a set of five posters along with accompanying questions designed to pique student interest.

— Decoding Starlight: Middle school and high school students perform hands-on exercises to understand how data received from the Chandra X-ray Observatory is assembled into images. Concepts taught include mathematics, terminology and the roles of computers and scientific analysis.

— Modeling the Electromagnetic Spectrum: This activity set for grades 5-12 consists of a demonstration that illustrates the power of models, a preassessment activity on student understanding of exponents, an activity for students to construct and compare a different model of the spectrum than the model commonly used in textbooks and on posters and an assessment task for students to construct their own models of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Not only is the Space Place constantly developing brand new content, the team also makes sure to keep our existing products as up-to-date and as exciting as possible. Nowhere is this clearer than in our educational mobile game development. In the past couple of months, we have updated our classic games “Satellite Insight” and “Comet Quest,” and our magazine-style app “Space Place Prime.” “Comet Quest” is now as exciting as ever with all-new game play. We have expanded our reach by releasing “Space Place Prime” for Android devices, and all of our products are now compatible with iOS7. The new updates of “Comet Quest” and “Satellite Insight” now include access to Apple’s Game Center. See how well you stack up against players from around the world!

What’s New? Craters!
Ever stop to think about how many craters are on the moon? Do you wonder why Earth hasn’t suffered a similar scarred fate? It’s a good mystery to think about, and can lead to some excellent classroom science discussions. A new page on Space Place answers this quandary with its usual dose of fun and humor. Check it out at http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/craters.

Space Place en Español
We are constantly adding our newest content to Space Place en Español, but we’ve added even more to the site recently. Our popular new pages The Lone Planet, What is a Planet, A Solar Mystery and our new activity “Build a Spacecraft” are all available on the Spanish language site. Check them out at http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/sp/.

Spotlight on Game Center
The Space Place team is proud to announce that we are one of the first NASA groups to release mobile gamesthat are compatible with Apple’s Game Center app. This app, which works with both “Comet Quest” and “Satellite Insight,” allows you to compare scores with anyone else in the world. How do your scores measure against friends, strangers and high scorers? Who knows? Maybe you can set the highest score in the world. You’ll have to beat us first, though. Check out our mobile games at http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/ios.

For the Classroom
It’s that time of year again — Space Place calendar time, that is! We’ve just released the most recent edition of our hit calendar. Perfect for the classroom, this June 2014-June 2015 calendar comes complete with fun science facts, historical notes and beautiful images. Can’t wait until then? Don’t worry. We still have the remaining months of last year’s calendar ready to download as well. Spice your classroom up today! Download at http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/calendar.

For Outside the Classroom
With summer fast approaching, now might be a good time to get your wardrobe in order. Why not create your own fashionable summer wear this year? Space Place can help you out. We’ve got a printout t-shirt design that can be ironed on to the shirt of your choosing. What better way to tell the world that you are both stylish and science savvy than with a Space Place t-shirt? Check it out here: http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/t-shirt.

Special Days
May 18: Eruption of Mount St. Helens, 1980.It was a pretty impressive volcanic eruption. Does anything like that happen on other planets? http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/volcanoes.

Share
Want some help spreading the word about NASA’s Space Place? We’ve got a page with ready-to-use website descriptions, logos and links to all our social media. Check out http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/share.

Send FeedbackPlease let us know your ideas about ways to use The Space Place in your teaching. Send to info@spaceplace.nasa.gov.

As part of a series of electronic professional development experiences, the NASA Explorer Schools project and the National Science Teachers Association are hosting a free 90-minute professional development Web seminar for educators on May 1, 2014, at 6:30 p.m. EDT. Learn about the Boomerang Design Challenge and two extensions featuring free computer simulations that teach students about airflow around airfoils. The activity provides opportunities for incorporating national science, technology and mathematics standards into the curricula and addresses middle school Next Generation Science Standards.

This is the final time this Web seminar will be offered during the current school year.

NASA’s Digital Learning Network Event — Music in Space Downlink With the International Space Station

Join the Digital Learning Network at NASA’s Johnson Space Center for a live International Space Station downlink with Commander Koichi Wakata on May 2, 2014, from 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. EDT*. Students from the Pearl Hall Elementary in Pasadena, Texas, will perform songs with astronaut Catherine Coleman, Houston Symphony violinist Sergei Galperin and Bella Gaia director and violinist Kenji Williams. From the space station, Commander Koichi Wakata will perform a piece of the ancient Gagaku music with a Japanese wind instrument called a Sho.

Tenri Institute Executive Director Yoichi Fukui trained Wakata on the Sho, and this 2000-year old-instrument was transported to the International Space Station by the SpaceX Dragon. In the Japanese Shinto tradition, the Sho is an instrument performed for the purpose of tuning the cosmos.

Students from Pearl Hall Elementary and Japan’s Tenri University will speak to Wakata and explore the connection between the Arts and science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM.

The live program will be broadcast on NASA TV and webcasted on the DLiNfo Channel. To watch the webcast online, visit https://dln.nasa.gov.

Live Video Chat for Students — Astronaut Stephanie Wilson: Living and Working in Space

NASA Explorer Schools is hosting a 45-minute live video chat for students in grades 4-12 on May 2, 2014, at 3 p.m. EDT. During the video chat, astronaut Stephanie Wilson will answer students’ questions about living and working in space. She was selected to become an astronaut in April 1996 and flew as a mission specialist astronaut on three shuttle missions. She has logged 42 days in space.

NASA’s Center for Astronomy Education, or CAE, announces a series of educator workshops for astronomy and space science educators.

These workshops provide participants with experiences needed to create effective and productive active-learning classroom environments. Workshop leaders model best practices in implementing many different classroom-tested instructional strategies. But more importantly, workshop participants will gain first-hand experience implementing these proven strategies. During many microteaching events, you will have the opportunity to role-play the parts of student and instructor. You will assess and critique each other’s implementation in real time as part of a supportive learning community. You will have the opportunity to use unfamiliar teaching techniques in collaboration with mentors before using them with your students. CAE is funded through NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Exoplanet Exploration Program.

As part of a series of electronic professional development experiences for educators, the NASA Explorer Schools project and the National Science Teachers Association are hosting a 90-minute live professional development Web seminar for educators on May 5, 2014, at 6:30 p.m. EDT. Learn how to incorporate rocketry into your teaching repertoire. During this seminar, participants will get an overview of an activity from NASA’s “Rockets Educator Guide” that addresses forces and motion, center of mass and center of pressure. This seminar provides an overview of the activity, explores the NASA connections, shares tips and tricks for implementing this lesson in the classroom, showcases videos of students engaged in the lesson and discusses possible modifications or extensions. The featured activity provides opportunities for incorporating national science, technology and mathematics learning standards into the curricula and addresses middle school Next Generation Science Standards.

This is the final time this Web seminar will be offered during the current school year.

The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies is pleased to invite U.S. high school students to participate in the 2014 Thacher Environmental Research Contest. This annual contest gives students the opportunity to show off their science and technology skills by submitting research projects focused on the use of remote sensing and analysis tools. Students are asked to identify a U.S. protected area of interest, and design a research project that identifies why the area is unique, why it significantly contributes to our society, how this area has changed over time, and ways remote sensing and geospatial tools can be used to monitor these environmental treasures.

Applicants must be U.S. citizens in grades 9-12. Students in public, private, parochial, Native American reservation and home schools are eligible. Entries may be submitted by individuals or teams. The grand prize winner will have their work featured in a geospatial publication. Cash awards will be given to students in the top three places. Awards will also be given to the winning students’ teachers.

Entries must be postmarked by May 5, 2014. Entries may also be submitted electronically.

Commemorate the fifth anniversary of NASA’s Kepler mission to search for habitable planets with the Kepler Art of Discovery art contest. The contest is open to artists ages 13 and older who reside in the continental U.S. The contest invites artists to submit creative artwork that depicts, or relates to, the exciting discoveries made possible by the Kepler spacecraft and its team of scientists and engineers.

The best artwork, selected by a combination of participants’ votes and expert judges’ scores, will be displayed as the Top 100 in the Gallery of the Art of Discovery website.

The contest registration deadline is May 5, 2014. Entries are due May 12, 2014.

Free Education Webinar Series from NASA Educator Professional Development

NASA Educator Professional Development is presenting a series of free webinars open to all educators. Join NASA education specialists to learn about activities, lesson plans, educator guides and resources to bring NASA into your classroom.

NASA Resources in Spanish!
Audience: Pre-service and In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades K-12Event Date: May 6, 2014, at 4 p.m. EDT
Participants will be introduced to Spanish curricula for teachers to use in the classroom. The session will ONLY cover Spanish content for classroom use. (This webinar will be presented entirely in Spanish.)

The Adventures of ECHO the Bat: A Project-based Lesson
Audience: Pre-service and In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 5-8Event Date: May 8, 2014, at 6:30 p.m. EDT
During this 60-minute webinar, participants will learn how remote sensing and false-color satellite images are used to allow their students to follow Echo, a bat, on his adventure to his winter hibernation location.

As part of a series of electronic professional development experiences, the NASA Explorer Schools project and the National Science Teachers Association are hosting a 90-minute Web seminar on May 7, 2014 at 6:30 p.m. EDT. Discover a unique way of integrating robotic technology into your algebra classes. Robotic missions engage students and provide a unique way of bringing to life the concepts you are teaching. Learn to use programmable Texas Instruments, or TI, calculators and Norland Research Robots to solve problems requiring substituting values for variables in formulas.

This seminar provides an overview of using robotics in algebra so you can make an informed decision about purchasing the robots and other equipment. You do not need to have a Norland Research Robot or programmable TI calculator to participate in this seminar, or know how to program the calculator.

The featured activity provides many opportunities for addressing grades 6-8 Common Core State Mathematics Standards.

This is the final time this Web seminar will be offered during the current school year.

NASA invites college teams to take part in the 2014 NASA Aeronautics Mission Directorate’s Unmanned Aerial Systems Challenge. Students are invited to propose a high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial system to track hurricanes. Design assessment will be based on projected effectiveness, cost, innovation and ease of use and operation inside the National Air Space.

The contest is open to teams of full-time students enrolled in higher education institutions of the United States or its territories. This category includes universities, colleges, trade schools, community colleges, professional schools, etc. Multidisciplinary teams are encouraged.

The NASA Office of Education is accepting applications for NASA Scholars. The NASA Scholarship is a competitive opportunity that focuses on students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, disciplines, to address the critical shortage of qualified STEM professionals that the nation is facing.

Eligible students include rising freshman (high school graduating seniors or GED recipients not yet enrolled in college), sophomores and juniors, at the undergraduate level, who will complete their undergraduate degree in spring 2016 or later and community college students with at least two years remaining at the community college.

The scholarship includes up to a $9,000 academic scholarship, not to exceed 75 percent of verified tuition, and a $6,000 stipend for a 10-week internship at a NASA center during summer 2015. The internship provides scholars with a unique NASA research experience and preparation for global competitiveness.

Applications are due May 16, 2014.

Applications should be submitted through the NASA One Stop Shopping Initiative at https://intern.nasa.gov. Applicants should be sure to select “scholarships” for the type of application.NASA Office of Education scholarships cannot be concurrently accepted or combined with another U.S. government scholarship or funding, irrespective of the scholar’s status.

NASA’s Office of Education is accepting applications for Minority University Research and Education Program Scholars. The MUREP Scholarship is a competitive opportunity that focuses on underserved and underrepresented students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, disciplines, to address the critical shortage of qualified STEM professionals that the nation is facing.

Eligible students include rising freshman (high school graduating seniors or GED recipients not yet enrolled in college), sophomores and juniors, at the undergraduate level, who will complete their undergraduate degree in spring 2016 or later and Minority Serving Institution community college students with at least two years remaining at the community college.

The goal is to address the agency’s mission-specific workforce needs and target areas of national need in minority STEM representation. The scholarship includes up to a $9,000 academic scholarship, not to exceed 75 percent of verified tuition, and a $6,000 stipend for a required 10-week internship at a NASA center during summer 2015. The internship provides scholars with a unique NASA research experience and preparation for global competitiveness.

Applications are due May 16, 2014.

Applications should be submitted through the NASA One Stop Shopping Initiative at https://intern.nasa.gov/. Applicants should be sure to select “scholarships” for the type of application.

MUREP scholarships cannot be concurrently accepted or combined with another U.S. government scholarship or funding, irrespective of the scholar’s status.

The Lunar and Planetary Institute and the ChemCam instrument team invite high school teachers, both in-service and pre-service, to attend the Mars Through Time workshop. This four-day workshop will take place July 8-11, 2014, at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, NM.

Attendees will discover the relationship between technology and science as it relates to our understanding of Mars. Attendees will also discuss the nature and process of science with invited speakers. Classroom resources will be provided.

Workshop registration is free. This workshop is limited to 20 participants. Interested educators are encouraged to apply early to secure a spot. Qualified applicants will be accepted in the order they apply. The application closes May 16, 2014.

Exploration of the Moon and Asteroids by Secondary Students High School Research Program

The Center for Lunar Science and Exploration at the Lunar and Planetary Institute and NASA’s Johnson Space Center are looking for 10 teams of motivated high school students to participate in a national standards-based lunar/asteroid research program for the 2014-2015 academic year.

Supported by their teacher and a scientist mentor, students undertake open-inquiry research projects that engage them in the process of science and support the science goals of the NASA Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute. At the end of the year, four teams compete for a chance to present their research at the Exploration Science Forum held at NASA’s Ames Research Center in July 2015.

Participation in the Exploration of the Moon and Asteroids by Secondary Students, or ExMASS, program is free. Interested teachers must submit an application. Applications must be completed by a teacher and are due May 23, 2014.

NASA is seeking proposals for the development of new, more capable energy storage technologies to replace the battery technology that has long powered America’s space program.

The core technologies solicited in the call for proposals will advance energy storage solutions for the space program and other government agencies. NASA’s solicitation has two category areas: “High Specific Energy System Level Concepts,” which will focus on cell chemistry and system-level battery technologies, such as packaging and cell integration; and “Very High Specific Energy Devices,” which will focus on energy storage technologies that can go beyond the current theoretical limits of Lithium batteries while maintaining the cycle life and safety characteristics demanded of energy storage systems used in space applications.

Proposals will be accepted from NASA centers and other government agencies, federally funded research and development centers, educational institutions, industry and nonprofit organizations. NASA expects to make approximately four awards for Phase I of the solicitation, ranging in value up to $250,000 each.

Through solicitations and grants, NASA’s investments in space technology provide the transformative capabilities to enable new missions, stimulate the economy, contribute to the nation’s global competitiveness and inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers and explorers.

DLN Rockets to Racecars Educator Professional Development Opportunity at Kentucky Speedway

Get your students revved up about science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, with the NASA Rockets to Racecars STEM Education program’s special NICE Go Green Edition/The Heat is ON! Sign up today to attend a 75-minute virtual session on solar energy and Earth’s energy budget being offered May 27 or June 4, 2014. Attendees will be invited to show off their newly acquired skills alongside NASA educators during race days at Kentucky Speedway June 26-28, 2014.

Additional hours of professional development may be earned through a variety of activities, including extra virtual sessions on related Rockets to Racecars STEM Educator Professional Development lessons that you can showcase at the track. Bridge science and math by designing a capsule to land on Mars, just as NASA engineers have with the “Drag Race to Mars” webinar on June 3, 2014. Investigate creative ways of using tires and air pressure to add math into the classroom and investigate center of gravity with the “Measure Up and Calculate” webinar on June 9, 2014. Explore the physical science of Bernoulli’s Principle on objects such as an airplane wing or a racecar spoiler with the “May the Force Uplift You…or Not!” webinar on June 11, 2014.

NASA’s Office of Education is accepting proposals from Designated, Program Grant and Capability Enhancement consortia for a 2014 Space Grant opportunity for community college and technical school students and faculty. Each funded proposal is expected to engage community college and technical school faculty and undergraduate students enrolled in STEM degree programs, or the equivalent of the available general/liberal arts degree program with a STEM focus.

This opportunity is open to Space Grant consortia in each state plus the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Proposals must be submitted to NASA from the lead Space Grant institution in each consortium, with the consortium director serving as the lead principal investigator for any proposed effort. Only one proposal per consortium is permitted for submission.

Interested parties are requested to submit a notice of intent by April 14, 2014. Proposals are due May 28, 2014.

Graduate Research Awards for Applied Research in Public Sector Airport-Related Aviation Issues

The Virginia Space Grant Consortium is managing the Graduate Research Award program for the Airport Cooperative Research Program of the National Academies Transportation Research Board. The program supports applied research in public sector airport-related issues.

Under the program, up to 10 awards of $10,000 each will be made to full-time graduate students for successful completion of a research paper on public sector airport-related aviation issues during the upcoming academic year. The research must be overseen by a faculty advisor.

The program provides funding, subject matter expert support, national recognition and publication potential through the Transportation Research Record of the Transportation Research Board. Students also have an expense-paid opportunity to present on their work at the Transportation Research Board’s annual meeting in January 2016 in Washington, D.C.

The Virginia Space Grant Consortium, or VSGC, is offering renewable scholarships to sophomore undergraduate students studying science, technology, engineering or mathematics, or STEM. The STEM Bridge Scholarships are $1,000 and are available to students who are U.S. citizens from any federally recognized minority group enrolled fulltime at one of the five VSGC member universities: The College of William and Mary, Hampton University, Old Dominion University, University of Virginia and Virginia Tech.

The STEM Bridge Program bridges students to future opportunities by mentoring and guiding them to future VSGC scholarships and NASA-related paid internships. The program encourages students to explore how their majors can apply to NASA’s Mission.

This is a competitive program, and awards are based on student academic merit, quality of interest essay as well as letters of recommendation from current college faculty who can attest to students’ interest in STEM areas.

The deadline for submitting applications has been extended to May 30, 2014.

The Solar System Exploration Pre-Service Teacher Institute is a free workshop for future middle school science teachers and the educators who mentor them. Presented by the NASA Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute, the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and the Lunar Planetary Institute, the workshop will take place in Houston, Texas.

Workshop participants will explore questions relating to the nature of science and how scientists conduct their work. Planetary scientists will be available to discuss their research and recent discoveries. Hands-on activities will be demonstrated, and participants will discover ways to connect solar system topics to Earth science, life science and physical science. A tour of the lunar rock laboratory at NASA’s Johnson Space Center is also planned.

The workshop will take place June 23-27, 2014. Registration is free, and lunches are included. Participants will receive a certificate for professional development hours.

How do scientists search for habitable environments beyond Earth? What makes an environment habitable? Are the criteria for life the same or different beyond Earth? The science of astrobiology is at the forefront addressing these types of challenging questions, including where can life exist?

Currently, NASA’s Curiosity Rover is exploring Gale Crater on Mars to investigate a site that has a very interesting history that could include habitability! Join the Mars Rover scientists as they lead a five-day interdisciplinary, immersive educator field experience to explore areas on Earth similar to environments on Mars. Help expand your students’ understanding of how biology, geology and chemistry are essential to this fascinating search for life elsewhere.

The symposium will take place June 16-20, 2014, at the Arizona State University campus in Tempe, Ariz. Participants will be responsible for transportation to and from Arizona State University, lodging and meals. Transportation between campus and the field trip sites will be provided. Some hiking will be required to participate in this field experience.

Participants will receive a certificate with a minimum of 45 professional development hours.

Space is limited to 30 participants. Registration will remain open until all positions are filled.

Free Education Webinar Series from NASA Educator Professional Development

NASA Educator Professional Development is presenting a series of free webinars open to all educators. Join NASA education specialists to learn about activities, lesson plans, educator guides and resources to bring NASA into your classroom.

Humans in Space: Higher “Standards” of Living
Audience: Pre-service and in-service, Home School and Informal Educators of grades 5-8Event Date: April 24, 2014, at 5:30 p.m. EDT
During this 90-minute webinar, participants will explore how humans have adapted to the space environment, particularly on the International Space Station.

Life Science Resources for Grades 4-12
Audience: Pre-service and in-service, Home School and Informal Educators educators of grades 4-12
Event Date: April 29, 2014, at 4 p.m. EDTThis hourlong webinar will give participants tools they can use to give life science lessons a NASA twist. Participants will browse through interactive simulation sites, and download or print life science content.

Solar System and the Periodic Table
Audience: Pre-service and in-service, Home School and Informal Educators of grades 3-12Event Date: April 30, 2014, at 6:30 p.m. EDT
During this 90-minute webinar, participants will journey from the center to the outer boundaries of our solar system and discover that the periodic table is everywhere!

NASA’s Digital Learning Network™, or DLN, the U.S. Department of State’s Collaboratory, and Google’s Connected Classrooms invite educators and students to their Mission Mars Mission Virtual Field Trip. The online event will take place on Friday,April 25, 2014, from 2-3 p.m. EDT, in conjunction with the 2014 USA Science and Engineering Festival at the Washington D.C. Convention Center.

This virtual event will feature a special lesson about Mars rovers presented by education and content experts from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab. Middle schools from Texas and New Jersey, along with international schools from Nicaragua and Argentina, will connect and interact via Google Hangouts with on-site guests and local students at the Festival in Washington, D. C. The event will be hosted by Lisa May, the program executive at NASA Headquarters for the Mars Exploration program. She will be accompanied by Dr. Jim Green, NASA Headquarters Planetary Science Division director, and a prominent State Department official. Join us in celebrating National Science and Technology Week, and let’s get youth excited about STEM education!

Live Video Chat for Students — LADEE: New Look at the Moon — No Cheese, Plenty of Dust and an Atmosphere!

NASA Explorer Schools is hosting a 45-minute live video chat for students in grades 5-10 on April 28, 2014, at 1 p.m. EDT. During the video chat, Brian Day, public outreach lead for the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer, or LADEE, mission, will answer student questions about the mission. NASA’s LADEE spacecraft impacted the surface of the moon, as planned, between 9:30 and 10:22 p.m. PDT Thursday, April 17. It was studying the structure and composition of the very thin lunar atmosphere and how these vary over time.

NASA invites students and educators to chat with NASA engineer Heriberto Soto in Spanish. This special Digital Learning Network event will be a live interview from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center to audiences across the country whose first language is Spanish. Learn about Soto’s career path, challenges he faced, projects he has worked on at NASA and the future for students who want to become engineers. During the chat, ask your question by sending it via email to dlinfochannel@gmail.com or tweet the question with #askDLN.

The event will be webcast on the NASA DLiNfo Channel on Wednesday, April 30, 2014, at 1 p.m. EDT.

In a continuing effort to engage and retain students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields and provide a real-world challenge, exposing students to the engineering and design processes, the Advanced Exploration Systems Habitation Systems Deep Space Habitat Project team has begun accepting applications for the 2015 eXploration Habitat, or X-Hab Challenge.

Post-secondary students engaged in a variety of curricula will work together to create a solution to a need for living and working in space or on another celestial body. The winners of the challenge will receive between $10,000 and $20,000 to design and produce functional products of interest to the Deep Space Habitat project.

Proposals are due April 30, 2014, and awardees should expect to deliver their product to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, in May or June of 2015.

Proposals will be accepted from university faculty who are U.S. citizens and currently teach an Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology accredited engineering senior or graduate design, industrial design or architecture curriculum at an accredited university in the U.S.

Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges and other minority serving educational institutions are particularly encouraged to apply. Proposals from women, members of underrepresented minorities groups and persons with disabilities also are highly encouraged.

As part of a series of electronic professional development experiences, the NASA Explorer Schools project and the National Science Teachers Association are hosting a free 90-minute professional development Web seminar for educators on May 1, 2014, at 6:30 p.m. EDT. Learn about the Boomerang Design Challenge and two extensions featuring free computer simulations that teach students about airflow around airfoils. The activity provides opportunities for incorporating national science, technology and mathematics standards into the curricula and addresses middle school Next Generation Science Standards.

This is the final time this Web seminar will be offered during the current school year.

NASA’s Digital Learning Network Event — Music in Space Downlink With the International Space Station

Join the Digital Learning Network at NASA’s Johnson Space Center for a live International Space Station downlink with commander Koichi Wakata on May 2, 2014, from 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. EDT*. Students from the Pearl Hall Elementary in Pasadena, Texas, will perform songs with astronaut Catherine Coleman, Houston Symphony violinist Sergei Galperin and violinist Kenji Williams. From the space station, commander Koichi Wakata will perform a piece of the ancient Gagaku music with the sho Japanese instrument.

Students from Pearl Hall Elementary and Japan’s Tenri University will speak to Wakata and explore the connection between the Arts and science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM.

The live program will be broadcast on NASA TV and webcasted on the DLiNfo Channel. To watch the webcast online, visit https://dln.nasa.gov.

Live Video Chat for Students — Astronaut Stephanie Wilson: Living and Working in Space

NASA Explorer Schools is hosting a 45-minute live video chat for students in grades 4-12 on May 2, 2014, at 3 p.m. EDT. During the video chat, astronaut Stephanie Wilson will answer students’ questions about living and working in space. She was selected to become an astronaut in April 1996 and flew as a mission specialist astronaut on three shuttle missions. She has logged 42 days in space.

University and community college faculty and students are invited to a weeklong workshop to learn how to build and launch a scientific experiment into space. NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia is hosting the RockOn 2014 workshop June 14-19, 2014, in partnership with the Colorado and Virginia Space Grant Consortia. Workshop participants must be U.S. citizens. The registration deadline for the workshop is May 2, 2014.

The hands-on workshop teaches participants to build experiments that fly on sounding rockets. During the week, participants will work in teams of three to construct and integrate a sounding rocket payload from a kit. On the fifth day of the workshop, the experiments will fly on a sounding rocket expected to reach an altitude of more than 70 miles.

Each experiment will provide valuable scientific data, analyzed as part of the student-led science and engineering research. The program engages faculty and students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills critical to NASA’s future engineering, scientific and technical missions.

NASA’s Center for Astronomy Education, or CAE, announces a series of educator workshops for astronomy and space science educators.

These workshops provide participants with experiences needed to create effective and productive active-learning classroom environments. Workshop leaders model best practices in implementing many different classroom-tested instructional strategies. But more importantly, workshop participants will gain first-hand experience implementing these proven strategies. During many microteaching events, you will have the opportunity to role-play the parts of student and instructor. You will assess and critique each other’s implementation in real time as part of a supportive learning community. You will have the opportunity to use unfamiliar teaching techniques in collaboration with mentors before using them with your students. CAE is funded through NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Exoplanet Exploration Program.

The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies is pleased to invite U.S. high school students to participate in the 2014 Thacher Environmental Research Contest. This annual contest gives students the opportunity to show off their science and technology skills by submitting research projects focused on the use of remote sensing and analysis tools. Students are asked to identify a U.S. protected area of interest, and design a research project that identifies why the area is unique, why it significantly contributes to our society, how this area has changed over time, and ways remote sensing and geospatial tools can be used to monitor these environmental treasures.

Applicants must be U.S. citizens in grades 9-12. Students in public, private, parochial, Native American reservation and home schools are eligible. Entries may be submitted by individuals or teams. The grand prize winner will have their work featured in a geospatial publication. Cash awards will be given to students in the top three places. Awards will also be given to the winning students’ teachers.

Entries must be postmarked by May 5, 2014. Entries may also be submitted electronically.

Commemorate the fifth anniversary of NASA’s Kepler mission to search for habitable planets with the Kepler Art of Discovery art contest. The contest is open to artists ages 13 and older who reside in the continental U.S. The contest invites artists to submit creative artwork that depicts, or relates to, the exciting discoveries made possible by the Kepler spacecraft and its team of scientists and engineers.

The best artwork, selected by a combination of participants’ votes and expert judges’ scores, will be displayed as the Top 100 in the Gallery of the Art of Discovery website.

The contest registration deadline is May 5, 2014. Entries are due May 12, 2014.

NASA invites college teams to take part in the 2014 NASA Aeronautics Mission Directorate’s Unmanned Aerial Systems Challenge. Students are invited to propose a high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial system to track hurricanes. Design assessment will be based on projected effectiveness, cost, innovation and ease of use and operation inside the National Air Space.

The contest is open to teams of full-time students enrolled in higher education institutions of the United States or its territories. This category includes universities, colleges, trade schools, community colleges, professional schools, etc. Multidisciplinary teams are encouraged.

The NASA Office of Education is accepting applications for NASA Scholars. The NASA Scholarship is a competitive opportunity that focuses on students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, disciplines, to address the critical shortage of qualified STEM professionals that the nation is facing.

Eligible students include rising freshman (high school graduating seniors or GED recipients not yet enrolled in college), sophomores and juniors, at the undergraduate level, who will complete their undergraduate degree in spring 2016 or later and community college students with at least two years remaining at the community college.

The scholarship includes up to a $9,000 academic scholarship, not to exceed 75 percent of verified tuition, and a $6,000 stipend for a 10-week internship at a NASA center during summer 2015. The internship provides scholars with a unique NASA research experience and preparation for global competitiveness.

Applications are due May 16, 2014.

Applications should be submitted through the NASA One Stop Shopping Initiative at https://intern.nasa.gov. Applicants should be sure to select “scholarships” for the type of application.NASA Office of Education scholarships cannot be concurrently accepted or combined with another U.S. government scholarship or funding, irrespective of the scholar’s status.

NASA’s Office of Education is accepting applications for Minority University Research and Education Program Scholars. The MUREP Scholarship is a competitive opportunity that focuses on underserved and underrepresented students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, disciplines, to address the critical shortage of qualified STEM professionals that the nation is facing.

Eligible students include rising freshman (high school graduating seniors or GED recipients not yet enrolled in college), sophomores and juniors, at the undergraduate level, who will complete their undergraduate degree in spring 2016 or later and Minority Serving Institution community college students with at least two years remaining at the community college.

The goal is to address the agency’s mission-specific workforce needs and target areas of national need in minority STEM representation. The scholarship includes up to a $9,000 academic scholarship, not to exceed 75 percent of verified tuition, and a $6,000 stipend for a required 10-week internship at a NASA center during summer 2015. The internship provides scholars with a unique NASA research experience and preparation for global competitiveness.

Applications are due May 16, 2014.

Applications should be submitted through the NASA One Stop Shopping Initiative at https://intern.nasa.gov/. Applicants should be sure to select “scholarships” for the type of application.

MUREP scholarships cannot be concurrently accepted or combined with another U.S. government scholarship or funding, irrespective of the scholar’s status.

The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, or IGES, invites students in grades 5-8 to submit photos to the 2014 IGES Earth Day Photo and Essay Contest.

We know that our Earth is dynamic, constantly changing and shifting due to weather, seismic activities, erosion and even asteroids! Change is part of living on Earth. To participate in the contest, take a photograph of something that is changing in your local natural environment. The photo can be taken anytime from Monday, April 14 through Friday, April 25, 2014. (Earth Day is April 22.) The photo can showcase something changing in your backyard or neighborhood, near your school or in a local park, on the ground or high in the sky, in the distance toward the horizon or anywhere you happen to be. After selecting a photo, write an essay of up to 400 words to describe the change happening in your photo.

First-, second- and third-place prize winners will receive gift cards. The top 10 entries will receive a photo book showcasing the winning artwork and essays. Winning photos and essays also will be featured on the IGES website.

The Lunar and Planetary Institute and the ChemCam instrument team invite high school teachers, both in-service and pre-service, to attend the Mars Through Time workshop. This four-day workshop will take place July 8-11, 2014, at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, NM.

Attendees will discover the relationship between technology and science as it relates to our understanding of Mars. Attendees will also discuss the nature and process of science with invited speakers. Classroom resources will be provided.

Workshop registration is free. This workshop is limited to 20 participants. Interested educators are encouraged to apply early to secure a spot. Qualified applicants will be accepted in the order they apply. The application closes May 16, 2014.

NASA is seeking proposals for the development of new, more capable energy storage technologies to replace the battery technology that has long powered America’s space program.

The core technologies solicited in the call for proposals will advance energy storage solutions for the space program and other government agencies. NASA’s solicitation has two category areas: “High Specific Energy System Level Concepts,” which will focus on cell chemistry and system-level battery technologies, such as packaging and cell integration; and “Very High Specific Energy Devices,” which will focus on energy storage technologies that can go beyond the current theoretical limits of Lithium batteries while maintaining the cycle life and safety characteristics demanded of energy storage systems used in space applications.

Proposals will be accepted from NASA centers and other government agencies, federally funded research and development centers, educational institutions, industry and nonprofit organizations. NASA expects to make approximately four awards for Phase I of the solicitation, ranging in value up to $250,000 each.

Through solicitations and grants, NASA’s investments in space technology provide the transformative capabilities to enable new missions, stimulate the economy, contribute to the nation’s global competitiveness and inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers and explorers.

NASA’s Office of Education is accepting proposals from Designated, Program Grant and Capability Enhancement consortia for a 2014 Space Grant opportunity for community college and technical school students and faculty. Each funded proposal is expected to engage community college and technical school faculty and undergraduate students enrolled in STEM degree programs, or the equivalent of the available general/liberal arts degree program with a STEM focus.

This opportunity is open to Space Grant consortia in each state plus the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Proposals must be submitted to NASA from the lead Space Grant institution in each consortium, with the consortium director serving as the lead principal investigator for any proposed effort. Only one proposal per consortium is permitted for submission.

Interested parties are requested to submit a notice of intent by April 14, 2014. Proposals are due May 28, 2014.

The Virginia Space Grant Consortium, or VSGC, is offering renewable scholarships to sophomore undergraduate students studying science, technology, engineering or mathematics, or STEM. The STEM Bridge Scholarships are $1,000 and are available to students who are U.S. citizens from any federally recognized minority group enrolled fulltime at one of the five VSGC member universities: The College of William and Mary, Hampton University, Old Dominion University, University of Virginia and Virginia Tech.

The STEM Bridge Program bridges students to future opportunities by mentoring and guiding them to future VSGC scholarships and NASA-related paid internships. The program encourages students to explore how their majors can apply to NASA’s Mission.

This is a competitive program, and awards are based on student academic merit, quality of interest essay as well as letters of recommendation from current college faculty who can attest to students’ interest in STEM areas.

The deadline for submitting applications has been extended to May 30, 2014.

How do scientists search for habitable environments beyond Earth? What makes an environment habitable? Are the criteria for life the same or different beyond Earth? The science of astrobiology is at the forefront addressing these types of challenging questions, including where can life exist?

Currently, NASA’s Curiosity Rover is exploring Gale Crater on Mars to investigate a site that has a very interesting history that could include habitability! Join the Mars Rover scientists as they lead a five-day interdisciplinary, immersive educator field experience to explore areas on Earth similar to environments on Mars. Help expand your students’ understanding of how biology, geology and chemistry are essential to this fascinating search for life elsewhere.

The symposium will take place June 16-20, 2014, at the Arizona State University campus in Tempe, Ariz. Participants will be responsible for transportation to and from Arizona State University, lodging and meals. Transportation between campus and the field trip sites will be provided. Some hiking will be required to participate in this field experience.

Participants will receive a certificate with a minimum of 45 professional development hours.

Space is limited to 30 participants. Registration will remain open until all positions are filled.

The Solar System Exploration Pre-Service Teacher Institute is a free workshop for future middle school science teachers and the educators who mentor them. Presented by the NASA Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute, the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and the Lunar Planetary Institute, the workshop will take place in Houston, Texas.

Workshop participants will explore questions relating to the nature of science and how scientists conduct their work. Planetary scientists will be available to discuss their research and recent discoveries. Hands-on activities will be demonstrated, and participants will discover ways to connect solar system topics to Earth science, life science and physical science. A tour of the lunar rock laboratory at NASA’s Johnson Space Center is also planned.

The workshop will take place June 23-27, 2014. Registration is free, and lunches are included. Participants will receive a certificate for professional development hours.

Join the NASA Innovations in Climate Education, or NICE, team for the final webinar of the 2013-14 school year in their series of Google Plus Hangout professional development sessions. Extended workshops will be held over the summer with those who have participated in the series. A new series of online Ask NICE sessions will begin in the fall.

This month’s webinar topic is:

Climate Change Summary: What We Know and How We Know It — April 17, 2014, at 4 p.m. EDT

From proxy data to direct observations, all signs point to the same conclusion: Earth’s climate system is warming at an unprecedented rate. Join presenter Margaret Mooney from the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies to learn more about how scientists measure and document warming trends along with tools to teach this topic to your students.

Certificates of professional development hours are available upon request. Additional session dates will be announced soon.

Free Education Webinar Series from NASA Educator Professional Development

NASA Educator Professional Development is presenting a series of free webinars open to all educators. Join NASA education specialists to learn about activities, lesson plans, educator guides and resources to bring NASA into your classroom.

The Engineering Evolution: Argument From Evidence
Audience: Pre-service and in-service educators of grades K-12Event Date: April 17, 2014, at 4:30 p.m. EDT
Attend this 60-minute webinar and learn how NASA uses evidence to engage in productive argument to advance society.

Journeying Through the Solar System and Milky Way Galaxy
Audience: Pre-service and in-service, Home School and Informal Educators of grades 1-8
Event Date: April 22, 2014, at 5:30 p.m. EDTAttend this 60-minute webinar and be prepared to construct a planisphere that can be used to predict the locations of seasonal and circumpolar constellations in the night sky.

Humans in Space: Higher “Standards” of Living
Audience: Pre-service and in-service, Home School and Informal Educators of grades 5-8Event Date: April 24, 2014, at 5:30 p.m. EDT
During this 90-minute webinar, participants will explore how humans have adapted to the space environment, particularly on the International Space Station.

As part of a series of electronic professional development experiences for educators, the NASA Explorer Schools project and the National Science Teachers Association are hosting a 90-minute live professional development Web seminar for educators on April 17, 2014, at 6:30 p.m. EDT.

Learn about the science of heat transfer and heat dissipation related to NASA vehicles, and receive an introduction to the associated engineering design challenge, Thermal Protection System. In this activity, students are challenged to design a thermal protection system and test it using a propane torch. The student activity provides opportunities for addressing national science, technology and mathematics standards as well as middle school Next Generation Science Standards.

This is the last time this Web seminar will be offered during the current school year.

The Cassini Scientist for a Day contest challenges students to become NASA scientists studying Saturn. Participants examine three possible observations taken by Cassini and choose the one they think will yield the best scientific results. This year’s targets are Saturn’s F Ring, Saturn’s largest moon Titan and Saturn itself. After researching the three options, students write an essay under 500 words explaining their choice.

The contest is open to all students in the United States in grades 5-12. The essays will be divided into three groups for scoring: grades 5-6, 7-8 and 9-12. All submissions must be students’ original work. Participants may enter as individuals or as part of a team of up to four students.

The Rubik Learning Initiative™, the Colorado Space Grant Consortium and NASA’s Sounding Rocket Program is offering a free science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics focused education program for students ages 11-14. Cubes in Space™ provides students an opportunity to design and compete to launch an experiment into space.

Using formal or informal learning environments, students and educators will be exposed to engaging content and activities in preparation for the design and development of an experimental payload to be integrated into a small cube. These cubes will be launched via a Terrier-Orion sounding rocket from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Va., in late June 2014.

Leveraging the excitement of space exploration, students and educators will learn about the methodology for taking an idea from design through the review process. Throughout the experience, students will acquire key 21st century skills necessary for success in a highly connected, global society.

The Long-term Engagement in Authentic Research at NASA, or LEARN, Project is seeking educators for an innovative program that provides onsite research and training opportunities with NASA scientists in the summer and guided research projects that continue throughout the school year. Participants conduct their own research with help of a team of NASA scientists and share and integrate these projects into the classroom.

This summer, participants will complete two weeks of onsite work at NASA’s Langley Research Center during the weeks of July 7-11 and July 14-18, 2014. Teachers will receive approximately 70 hours of professional development. Onsite work will be followed by continued research through 2015 via virtual research team meetings and data presentations. A stipend is offered for participants, and educators may present proposals for travel funding to present their research at regional conferences.

This opportunity is open to science, technology, engineering and mathematics educators of grades 6-12. Earth science, physics, chemistry and mathematics teachers are strongly encouraged to apply. Application is open to U.S. citizens only.

Join NASA’s Digital Learning Network, the Environment Protection Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for an educational investigation into the effects of climate change. Students across the nation will speak to climate change experts and experience climate change simulations using NASA satellite data. Students will learn the effects of climate change on our planet and how each of us can make a difference.

The live webcast event will take place on April 22, 2014, from noon to 1:30 p.m. EDT.

NASA invites you — and everyone else on the planet — to take part in a worldwide celebration of Earth Day with the agency’s #GlobalSelfie event.

The year 2014 is a big one for NASA earth science. Five NASA missions designed to gather critical data about our home planet are launching to space this year. NASA is marking this big year for earth science with a campaign called Earth Right Now, and as part of this campaign the agency is asking for your help this Earth Day, April 22.

While NASA satellites constantly look at Earth from space, on Earth Day, NASA is asking you to step outside and take a picture of yourself wherever you are on Earth. Then post the picture to social media using the hashtag #GlobalSelfie. NASA will use these pictures to create a mosaic image of Earth. This mosaic image and a video using the images will be put together and released in May.

NASA Explorer Schools and the National Science Teachers Association are hosting a 90-minute live professional development Web seminar for educators on April 23, 2014, at 6:30 p.m. EDT. Learn to use the distance formula and the Pythagorean theorem to determine the minimal path and minimal time for a lunar rover to perform tasks on the surface of the moon. Participants need a basic knowledge of scale factor and application of the Pythagorean theorem. Having access to a calculator is helpful but not necessary for the session.

The activity provides many opportunities for incorporating national mathematics learning standards into the curriculum as well as addressing Common Core State Standards, Mathematics.

This is the last time this Web seminar will be offered during the current school year.

NASA’s Digital Learning Network™, or DLN, the U.S. Department of State’s Collaboratory, and Google’s Connected Classrooms invite educators and students to their Mission Mars Mission Virtual Field Trip. The online event will take place on Friday,April 25, 2014, from 2-3 p.m. EDT, in conjunction with the 2014 USA Science and Engineering Festival at the Washington D.C. Convention Center.

This virtual event will feature a special lesson about Mars rovers presented by education and content experts from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab. Middle schools from Texas and New Jersey, along with international schools from Nicaragua and Argentina, will connect and interact via Google Hangouts with on-site guests and local students at the Festival in Washington, D. C. The event will be hosted by Lisa May, the program executive at NASA Headquarters for the Mars Exploration program. She will be accompanied by Dr. Jim Green, NASA Headquarters Planetary Science Division director, and a prominent State Department official. Join us in celebrating National Science and Technology Week, and let’s get youth excited about STEM education!

NASA invites students and educators to chat with NASA engineer Heriberto Soto in Spanish. This special Digital Learning Network event will be a live interview from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center to audiences across the country whose first language is Spanish. Learn about Soto’s career path, challenges he faced, projects he has worked on at NASA and the future for students who want to become engineers. During the chat, ask your question by sending it via email to dlinfochannel@gmail.com or tweet the question with #askDLN.

The event will be webcast on the NASA DLiNfo Channel on Wednesday, April 30, 2014, at 1 p.m. EDT.

In a continuing effort to engage and retain students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields and provide a real-world challenge, exposing students to the engineering and design processes, the Advanced Exploration Systems Habitation Systems Deep Space Habitat Project team has begun accepting applications for the 2015 eXploration Habitat, or X-Hab Challenge.

Post-secondary students engaged in a variety of curricula will work together to create a solution to a need for living and working in space or on another celestial body. The winners of the challenge will receive between $10,000 and $20,000 to design and produce functional products of interest to the Deep Space Habitat project.

Proposals are due April 30, 2014, and awardees should expect to deliver their product to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, in May or June of 2015.

Proposals will be accepted from university faculty who are U.S. citizens and currently teach an Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology accredited engineering senior or graduate design, industrial design or architecture curriculum at an accredited university in the U.S.

Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges and other minority serving educational institutions are particularly encouraged to apply. Proposals from women, members of underrepresented minorities groups and persons with disabilities also are highly encouraged.

University and community college faculty and students are invited to a weeklong workshop to learn how to build and launch a scientific experiment into space. NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia is hosting the RockOn 2014 workshop June 14-19, 2014, in partnership with the Colorado and Virginia Space Grant Consortia. Workshop participants must be U.S. citizens. The registration deadline for the workshop is May 2, 2014.

The hands-on workshop teaches participants to build experiments that fly on sounding rockets. During the week, participants will work in teams of three to construct and integrate a sounding rocket payload from a kit. On the fifth day of the workshop, the experiments will fly on a sounding rocket expected to reach an altitude of more than 70 miles.

Each experiment will provide valuable scientific data, analyzed as part of the student-led science and engineering research. The program engages faculty and students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills critical to NASA’s future engineering, scientific and technical missions.

NASA’s Center for Astronomy Education, or CAE, announces a series of educator workshops for astronomy and space science educators.

These workshops provide participants with experiences needed to create effective and productive active-learning classroom environments. Workshop leaders model best practices in implementing many different classroom-tested instructional strategies. But more importantly, workshop participants will gain first-hand experience implementing these proven strategies. During many microteaching events, you will have the opportunity to role-play the parts of student and instructor. You will assess and critique each other’s implementation in real time as part of a supportive learning community. You will have the opportunity to use unfamiliar teaching techniques in collaboration with mentors before using them with your students. CAE is funded through NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Exoplanet Exploration Program.

The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies is pleased to invite U.S. high school students to participate in the 2014 Thacher Environmental Research Contest. This annual contest gives students the opportunity to show off their science and technology skills by submitting research projects focused on the use of remote sensing and analysis tools. Students are asked to identify a U.S. protected area of interest, and design a research project that identifies why the area is unique, why it significantly contributes to our society, how this area has changed over time, and ways remote sensing and geospatial tools can be used to monitor these environmental treasures.

Applicants must be U.S. citizens in grades 9-12. Students in public, private, parochial, Native American reservation and home schools are eligible. Entries may be submitted by individuals or teams. The grand prize winner will have their work featured in a geospatial publication. Cash awards will be given to students in the top three places. Awards will also be given to the winning students’ teachers.

Entries must be postmarked by May 5, 2014. Entries may also be submitted electronically.

Commemorate the fifth anniversary of NASA’s Kepler mission to search for habitable planets with the Kepler Art of Discovery art contest. The contest is open to artists ages 13 and older who reside in the continental U.S. The contest invites artists to submit creative artwork that depicts, or relates to, the exciting discoveries made possible by the Kepler spacecraft and its team of scientists and engineers.

The best artwork, selected by a combination of participants’ votes and expert judges’ scores, will be displayed as the Top 100 in the Gallery of the Art of Discovery website.

The contest registration deadline is May 5, 2014. Entries are due May 12, 2014.

NASA invites college teams to take part in the 2014 NASA Aeronautics Mission Directorate’s Unmanned Aerial Systems Challenge. Students are invited to propose a high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial system to track hurricanes. Design assessment will be based on projected effectiveness, cost, innovation and ease of use and operation inside the National Air Space.

The contest is open to teams of full-time students enrolled in higher education institutions of the United States or its territories. This category includes universities, colleges, trade schools, community colleges, professional schools, etc. Multidisciplinary teams are encouraged.

The Solar System Exploration Pre-Service Teacher Institute is a free workshop for future middle school science teachers and the educators who mentor them. Presented by the NASA Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute, the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and the Lunar Planetary Institute, the workshop will take place in Houston, Texas.

Workshop participants will explore questions relating to the nature of science and how scientists conduct their work. Planetary scientists will be available to discuss their research and recent discoveries. Hands-on activities will be demonstrated, and participants will discover ways to connect solar system topics to Earth science, life science and physical science. A tour of the lunar rock laboratory at NASA’s Johnson Space Center is also planned.

Workshop dates are being finalized. Possible dates include May 13-17 and June 23-27, 2014. Final dates will be determined based on application data.

Institute registration is free, and lunches are included. Participants will receive a certificate for professional development hours.

The NASA Office of Education is accepting applications for NASA Scholars. The NASA Scholarship is a competitive opportunity that focuses on students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, disciplines, to address the critical shortage of qualified STEM professionals that the nation is facing.

Eligible students include rising freshman (high school graduating seniors or GED recipients not yet enrolled in college), sophomores and juniors, at the undergraduate level, who will complete their undergraduate degree in spring 2016 or later and community college students with at least two years remaining at the community college.

The scholarship includes up to a $9,000 academic scholarship, not to exceed 75 percent of verified tuition, and a $6,000 stipend for a 10-week internship at a NASA center during summer 2015. The internship provides scholars with a unique NASA research experience and preparation for global competitiveness.

Applications are due May 16, 2014.

Applications should be submitted through the NASA One Stop Shopping Initiative at https://intern.nasa.gov/. Applicants should be sure to select “scholarships” for the type of application.NASA Office of Education scholarships cannot be concurrently accepted or combined with another U.S. government scholarship or funding, irrespective of the scholar’s status.

NASA’s Office of Education is accepting applications for Minority University Research and Education Program Scholars. The MUREP Scholarship is a competitive opportunity that focuses on underserved and underrepresented students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, disciplines, to address the critical shortage of qualified STEM professionals that the nation is facing.

Eligible students include rising freshman (high school graduating seniors or GED recipients not yet enrolled in college), sophomores and juniors, at the undergraduate level, who will complete their undergraduate degree in spring 2016 or later and Minority Serving Institution community college students with at least two years remaining at the community college.

The goal is to address the agency’s mission-specific workforce needs and target areas of national need in minority STEM representation. The scholarship includes up to a $9,000 academic scholarship, not to exceed 75 percent of verified tuition, and a $6,000 stipend for a required 10-week internship at a NASA center during summer 2015. The internship provides scholars with a unique NASA research experience and preparation for global competitiveness.

Applications are due May 16, 2014.

Applications should be submitted through the NASA One Stop Shopping Initiative at https://intern.nasa.gov/. Applicants should be sure to select “scholarships” for the type of application.

MUREP scholarships cannot be concurrently accepted or combined with another U.S. government scholarship or funding, irrespective of the scholar’s status.

The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, or IGES, invites students in grades 5-8 to submit photos to the 2014 IGES Earth Day Photo and Essay Contest.

We know that our Earth is dynamic, constantly changing and shifting due to weather, seismic activities, erosion and even asteroids! Change is part of living on Earth. To participate in the contest, take a photograph of something that is changing in your local natural environment. The photo can be taken anytime from Monday, April 14 through Friday, April 25, 2014. (Earth Day is April 22.) The photo can showcase something changing in your backyard or neighborhood, near your school or in a local park, on the ground or high in the sky, in the distance toward the horizon or anywhere you happen to be. After selecting a photo, write an essay of up to 400 words to describe the change happening in your photo.

First-, second- and third-place prize winners will receive gift cards. The top 10 entries will receive a photo book showcasing the winning artwork and essays. Winning photos and essays also will be featured on the IGES website.

The Lunar and Planetary Institute and the ChemCam instrument team invite high school teachers, both in-service and pre-service, to attend the Mars Through Time workshop. This four-day workshop will take place July 8-11, 2014, at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, NM.

Attendees will discover the relationship between technology and science as it relates to our understanding of Mars. Attendees will also discuss the nature and process of science with invited speakers. Classroom resources will be provided.

Workshop registration is free. This workshop is limited to 20 participants. Interested educators are encouraged to apply early to secure a spot. Qualified applicants will be accepted in the order they apply. The application closes May 16, 2014.

NASA’s Office of Education is accepting proposals from Designated, Program Grant and Capability Enhancement consortia for a 2014 Space Grant opportunity for community college and technical school students and faculty. Each funded proposal is expected to engage community college and technical school faculty and undergraduate students enrolled in STEM degree programs, or the equivalent of the available general/liberal arts degree program with a STEM focus.

This opportunity is open to Space Grant consortia in each state plus the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Proposals must be submitted to NASA from the lead Space Grant institution in each consortium, with the consortium director serving as the lead principal investigator for any proposed effort. Only one proposal per consortium is permitted for submission.

Interested parties are requested to submit a notice of intent by April 14, 2014. Proposals are due May 28, 2014.

How do scientists search for habitable environments beyond Earth? What makes an environment habitable? Are the criteria for life the same or different beyond Earth? The science of astrobiology is at the forefront addressing these types of challenging questions, including where can life exist?

Currently, NASA’s Curiosity Rover is exploring Gale Crater on Mars to investigate a site that has a very interesting history that could include habitability! Join the Mars Rover scientists as they lead a five-day interdisciplinary, immersive educator field experience to explore areas on Earth similar to environments on Mars. Help expand your students’ understanding of how biology, geology and chemistry are essential to this fascinating search for life elsewhere.

The symposium will take place June 16-20, 2014, at the Arizona State University campus in Tempe, Ariz. Participants will be responsible for transportation to and from Arizona State University, lodging and meals. Transportation between campus and the field trip sites will be provided. Some hiking will be required to participate in this field experience.

Participants will receive a certificate with a minimum of 45 professional development hours.

Space is limited to 30 participants. Registration will remain open until all positions are filled.

Students from Kindergarten through 12th grade will have the opportunity to play a unique role in the future of human spaceflight through participation in NASA’s Exploration Design Challenge, or EDC. NASA EDC invites students around the world to think and act like scientists in order to overcome one of the major hurdles of deep space long-duration exploration — the dangers associated with space radiation. Students taking part in the challenge will discover how to plan and design improved radiation shielding aboard the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, currently being developed by NASA, Lockheed Martin and other partners to carry astronauts to space, venturing farther than humans have ever gone before.

Through a series of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, engagement activities, students in grades K-8 will analyze different materials that simulate space radiation shielding and recommend materials that best block radiation and protect astronauts. Students in grades 9-12 will think and act like engineers as they apply what they learn to design shielding to protect a sensor on the Orion crew module from space radiation. After a review of the design solutions submitted by teams in the grades 9-12 challenge, five finalist teams have been selected and will be matched with a mentor from NASA to test their designs in a virtual simulator. The winning team will build a prototype radiation shield that will be analyzed and submitted to Lockheed Martin for flight certification on the inaugural flight of the Orion Exploration Flight Test, or EFT-1.

The five U.S. finalist teams from the grades 9-12 challenge will be invited to attend the EFT-1 launch, currently scheduled for November 2014. The names of all students, grades K-12, participating in the NASA EDC will fly aboard the spacecraft as honorary virtual crewmembers for Orion’s first flight. The deadline to register students for the virtual crew is June 30, 2014.